TMNT Everlasting
by mysteryred
Summary: Based on predictions Renet made to the boys in 'Turtles in Time', this story is set in that future, & written as a sequel to my one-shot TMNT Rehab. Woven w/ references to 2012 canon storylines, it begins when Michelangelo meets an upscale woman at his laidback pizzeria. It's who she is & what she tells him that kicks off this adventure. I do not own TMNT.
1. Ever

New York City, October 8, 2036

She shouldn't be out there. Michelangelo didn't know who she was, but she definitely wasn't from Queens. He tossed pizza dough in the air, watching the out-of-place woman pacing the front of his store. He wasn't even open yet, it was still breakfast.

 _Maybe I should start serving pizza for breakfast too. Surely I'm not the only one who eats it for every meal._ _I could make a sausage, egg, and maple syrup, or ham, egg, and hollandaise… Man even after 38 years I'm still a pizza making genius._

His brothers surrounded a table near the counter, polishing off an extra large smore's pie, bickering amongst themselves over the happenings in their lives. Mikey had organized a bi-weekly family mealtime at his store in an effort to keep close to them. They'd drifted a bit once they'd gone their separate ways. It had been particularly hard on Leo, but Mikey missed living in a houseful of brothers too.

The gatherings were good for everyone, despite the griping front the Raphael put up. Michelangelo could tell by the way his red bandana-wearing brother lingered long after the pizza was gone, he enjoyed the time together.

And Donnie always seemed relieved when he'd sink into his favorite chair, the purple one with the cracked cushion. Mikey could afford new chairs, but Donnie always squashed the idea whenever he mentioned it.

Michelangelo glanced at them, pondering where they were in their lives. They'd made it in history books after saving the world so many times he'd lost count, and even more amazing, they'd lived to see it. Not to mention that they were wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. They were a franchise, books, movies, comics, toys, clothing… Michelangelo chuckled as he tossed the dough in the air again. If you could put a turtle on it, somebody made it.

Masked no more, instead clothed like humans, they did their best to behave like normal celebrity citizens. Mikey thought running a pizzeria was just the way to do that. His restaurant was popular, as much for the atmosphere and good food as for its owner.

It had been a long crazy road. The invasion before last they'd been exposed, and in an odd resulting twist had been rewarded with citizenship, only they'd insisted the offer be extended to all mutants. And it had been. That journey had been a whole other battle. One that in many ways would be ongoing long beyond his lifetime, he was sure.

He frowned at the black-haired woman pacing his storefront, waving a cell phone in the air and yelling at it. Her expensive sunglasses covered her eyes but he noticed the soft red of her full lips drawing down so low they might reach her jaw; if that were possible.

"Ahem," his elder brother cleared his throat and Michelangelo snapped to attention.

"Huh?" he asked, seeing that all three of his brothers were staring at him.

Raph leaned back in his chair, putting his arms behind his head. "He he," he snickered, "what's her name?"

A forgotten ball of dough dropped on Michelangelo's head covering his eyes. "Who?" He whined, peeling the goo away from his face.

His brothers shared a laugh at his expense.

"Whoever has you staring off into space," Donatello replied.

Michelangelo waved them off, and went to work cleaning up his mess. "It's not like that," he told them, motioning a flour-covered hand toward the front door. "I'm just wondering what a woman dressed like a movie star is doing in this part of Queens."

His brothers heads all turned toward the front door. Leo shoved his chair back. "Mikey, don't you know who that is?"

He didn't wait for an answer, crossing the dining room to unlock the door and step out to speak to the woman. Leo wasn't in his sergeant's uniform so Mikey thought he was either interested in the woman, or concerned for her safety. Either way, it had nothing to do with him.

"Uh-oh." Donatello stood as if he were going to follow Leo out the door, but the lyrics to Wonderwall belting from his phone stopped him.

"I thought you broke up," Raphael's voice came out low, sympathetic.

Donnie swallowed. He lowered a large green finger for the jittering device. "We did," he whispered, gazing at the image of April staring back at him. "I just— we're— I've got to take this." He glanced at Mikey, motioning a hand toward Leo and the woman. "She's not here for Leo, Mikey. I have a feeling she's here to see you."

Michelangelo's brow furrowed. "Me? Why?"

"Once you realize who she is, it'll all make sense." Donnie collected his phone from the table and pressed his lips flat. He strode toward the entrance, pausing before he left. "Mikey, if you need anything, just say the word. I'm here for you."

"What? Why?" Mikey stepped from behind the counter but Donnie ducked out the door. His purple neck-tied brother greeted the woman with a firm handshake before appearing to excuse himself. He disappeared around the corner, cell phone pressed to the side of his head.

"What's goin' on?" Raph followed Mikey to the door.

"I dunno, but we may as well—"

Mikey didn't get to finish as Leo pushed the door open, motioning his brothers back and the woman inside. Her mouth was going a thousand miles a minute. Mikey's eyes widened as he tried to sort out what she was saying to his big brother.

Raph grumbled something under his breath as Leo pulled out a chair for the woman to sit in. But she didn't accept the offer. Instead she waved her hands around in frantic movements while Leo remained attentive but otherwise silent.

"And she doesn't understand how it works. She never let me finish explaining it to her. She's studied her entire life for this moment, and now that it's here she disappears. So I thought she must be here—" The woman pointed a finger at Michelangelo. "With _him_!"

Mikey pointed to himself. "Me?"

The woman's scowled, flashing porcelain white teeth as she snapped at him. "Yes, you! Who else?"

Raph took a protective step between the woman and his little brother. "Gee, I dunno Lady, you haven't even said who you are. How's my brother supposed to know what you're goin' on about?"

The woman pursed her lips as she lowered her sunglasses, revealing familiar hazel eyes that struck a chord in Michelangelo. But he couldn't put a finger on why. The woman leaned forward, her eyes narrowing on Raphael. "You're _sure_ you don't know who I am?"

Raphael's jaw shifted. "I do now. What're you doin' out without bodyguards?"

Michelangelo looked on, helpless, and trying for the life of him to remember who this woman was. But he couldn't recall ever having met her before, let along talking to her. Yet all three of his brothers recognized her, and here he was with a photographic memory.

 _Wait a minute, black hair…_

 _Nope. Not Karai. Besides, Karai would be Leo's problem not mine._

 _Wait, is this lady my problem?_

 _Oh no, is she here about that after party at The Sherry Netherland hotel? I paid for the damages before I left. How was I supposed to know Casey's pro-hockey team's idea of a victory party was a free-for-all brawl?_

"I'm looking for my daughter." The woman tucked her sunglasses in her purse then thrust her cell phone in Raphael's face. "This picture is from last week. She was wearing a wig for some reason. I don't know. It must be another post-adolescent phase."

 _Well that's a relief. She's looking for her daughter. Wait, who's her daughter? And who is she, and what's it got to do with me?_

Mikey craned his neck to see the picture but morning sunlight cast a glare over the glass.

Leo sighed. "Michelangelo, meet Ever Tilley."

 _Ever Tilley?_

Michelangelo stared at his elder brother, feeling a heat rise to his cheeks.

Leo sighed again. "As in, Governor Tilley's wife?"

Mikey, rubbing the back of his neck, feigned a sheepish grin.

Raphael's green eyes shifted from the cell phone to Michelangelo. "Renet's mother, Pizza-For-Brains."


	2. Blackout

If Ever Tilley is at Michelangelo's pizzeria something must be up with Renet. Donatello decided he'd call his little brother later, see if he needed anything.

His phone had stopped ringing while he'd shaken Ever's hand and while his stomach churned and clenched matching the sick jerk of his heart he was somewhat relieved it had.

Just as he'd taken two steps away from Ever and Leonardo, as much to escape the socialites overwhelming perfume as to get to work, of which he'd soon be late, the phone belted out _their_ song again. The same lyrics that once carried him to the peak of his spiritual mountain, holding his arms open and wide, bandana tails soaring behind him while inside he'd screamed, "I'm king of the world!" because April O'Neil was his girl. _His._ Eat it Casey Jones. Moved in, vacations, and long passionate nights kind of his. Or so Donatello had thought.

" _I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me,"_

 _I'm gonna have to change her ringtone. Right after this phone call._ He cleared his throat. "Answer," he instructed the device.

"Donnie," April's voice reached through the phone like a hand, wrapping gentle fingers around his heart only to squeeze it so tight her fingernails ground in until it stopped. "Donnie?" she repeated.

Donatello cleared his throat again. "Yes, I'm here." He forced a tight smile to his face as a group of passing tourists recognized him and began snapping pictures. _Not now._ "When are you coming by to pick up your things?" he managed.

April's breath hitched through the phone. He knew the face that went with that sound. It involved a trembling pink lower lip, glossy red-rimmed blue eyes, and tear-stained cheeks. His resolve waivered, shredded with the urge to comfort and protect her as he'd done through every difficult moment they'd endured together in the past fifteen years.

"Donnie, please don't do this," her sweet voice cracked, "it doesn't have to be this way."

"No, it does." Donatello's jaw shifted, his grip on the phone tightening. He reminded himself not to accidentally crush the thin device. This wasn't his fault. "You decided it had to be this way, when you refused to tell me who you've been meeting up with when you're supposed to be at work."

He realized he'd stopped walking and the tourists were lingering, listening to his conversation. He signed an autograph and excused himself, stopping at his favorite street vendors for coffee. As he stood in line, waiting for her to respond, knowing she'd feed him the same tired line for the hundredth time, the hard proof stared at him from the tabloid on the magazine rack.

"You have to trust me Donnie. How many times have I ever questioned you? I don't understand. I told you, I'm helping out an old friend."

Donatello lifted the gloss-finished magazine from the rack, his teeth clenching. He closed his eyes, counted to ten. "And that old friend wouldn't happen to be Casey Jones, would it?"

"What? Donnie, no. You know he'll only meet with me. He won't do an interview with anyone else. Let me guess, you're looking at the tabloid?"

He wasn't looking at the tabloid, not anymore. It was a crumpled mess in his hand.

"You gonna pay for that Don?" Joe, the coffee guy, called over the two customers ahead of him.

Donnie's head moved up and down to acknowledge his friend, while the image of his long time love, dressed in a yellow gown that would make the fairy tale princess Belle of Beauty and the Beast jealous, burned into his eyelids. He gave new meaning to the phrase green-with-envy, because he was her beast, but the beauty in this photo, his beauty, was on the arm of one Casey Arnold Jones.

"Donnie? It was a trade, to get the interview. I had to accompany him to The Rangers red-carpet charity gala. Donnie, it's not how it looks."

 _It's not how it looks. It's not how it looks._

It's not how it looks when she's meeting him for lunch, or dinner, or accompanying him to some event… It's not how it looks when their photographed together at black tie affairs.

"Stop it Donnie. I know what you're thinking. And there are just as many pictures of me on your arm, so just…" her voice broke, "stop, please."

She was sobbing again. He was so tired of hearing her cry. His shoulders drooped, his heart grinding into the pit of his stomach. He was tired of fighting with her. The emotional battles wore on him worse than some of the most horrible fights he'd survived.

"It's not how it looks," she repeated.

"It never is," he murmured, stepping up in line. "Look April, I've got to go. If you want to come by and get your things, can you please do it while I'm at work?"

She sniffled, cleared her throat. "That's not why I called. And I'm not ready to give up on us yet. This is a horrible misunderstanding Donnie. If we were married you'd have the security you need, you'd know it doesn't have to be this way."

Donatello flinched. Ever since they'd legalized mutant marriages she'd been photographed gazing in jewelry store windows. But the timing had never been right. His father had passed, then Leo went into rehab, there was always something. Maybe there always would be.

"Then tell me where you've been. Or is there someone besides Casey, because I know he was out of town, for a game, at least two of the past five times you've not been where you say you were going to be." His own breaths quickened as he fumbled in his pocket, then handed Joe his money. He tossed the tabloid in the trash and took his coffee. It sloshed over the lip burning his hand, the same way her lies had scorched his heart.

April heaved an exasperated sigh. They'd been together so long he recognized the sound. His chest tightened as he braced for her wrath. But her voice came out low, even, and more terrifying than if she'd exploded.

"I'm very disappointed in you Hamato Donatello. That you doubt me the way you have. Because I've never betrayed you, never given you a reason to doubt me, regardless of how the tabloids make it look." Her breaths rushed through her nose, into the phone, the sound quickening the beat of his heart to match her inhales and exhales. "I love you, and I refuse to give up on us." She took a deep breath. "Now, you and I are not what I called to discuss—," she hesitated, "this is actually a business call."

 _A business call._ Donatello straightened at the formality. "A business, call?" he repeated.

"Yes," her voice came out soft. He visualized the frown on her mouth, felt a pang in his gut.

He pictured a power switch over his heart, one that in the 'on' position would represent his love for her as brilliant as a thousand mega-watt bulb, the 'off' as dark and cold as their bed had been every night for the past week. His conscious reached up, wrapping three thick fingers over the lever and pulled it.

Blackout.

As if in perfect synch with the tiny winged Donatello on his shoulder, the device in his hand cut off while the electrical cords on Joe's food truck shorted. All along the sidewalk people stared at their phones.

A man yelled at him. "Hey! Something wrong with your phone too? I can't get the internet or call nobody!"

 _Idiots. If the powers out modems don't work, cell towers don't work. Your phones are about as useful as a flashlight during the day._

Donatello's eyes travelled the stores lining the streets, finding them unlit, clerks ushering out customers, frantic to lock the doors.

"Blackout!" Another man yelled.

 _Blackout. Oh, no. Where did April say she was?_ New York City during a blackout was a dangerous place to be. _Knowing her she'll be in the thick of a riot trying to conduct an interview._ He had to find her.

As he looked up and down the street, debating to go back to Michelangelo's to form a plan with his brothers, the power flickered back on. He exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and his phone belted out those damned lyrics again.

It was only ten thirty in the morning and he was exhausted. He licked his lips and answered the phone. "I can't do this anymore April."

"I'm not calling about us Donatello." April's professional voice cut through him. "I'm calling to talk about the break in at your lab this morning."

An electric sensation travelled down his spine, his heart slowing to long hard beats. "My lab?" he croaked. _No. No. No._ He closed his eyes, reeled. "Tell me it's still there."

He didn't know how she did it, but April maintained her cool tone. "Professor Hamato Donatello, can you tell me, how dangerous is the Mutagen Blocking Compound known as MBC-26? It is my understanding-"

Donatello's fingers went numb. "I've got to go, April." He disconnected the call, feeling his knees buckle as the coffee cup fell from his fingers, hot liquid splashing over the sidewalk below. _The compound. The lab._

He had to get to the lab, and he had to call Leo.


	3. Escape

"You know Mikey, I'm just— I'll just give you a call later. I gotta get to the office and find out," Raphael cracked his knuckles, "who I'm haulin' off to jail today."

Leo's eyes narrowed but he said nothing.

 _And you better keep on not say nothin'. I keep plenty of low-lives off the streets while you spend half the day behind a desk shufflin' paper._

Michelangelo stared at Ever Tilley with wide, horrified eyes. "Mrs. Tilley, I— I— I—"

 _Yep. This is gonna take forever._ Raphael slapped Mikey on his shell. "See ya later, Bro."

He lumbered from the pizza parlor without so much as a squeak reply from his little brother. _What does Ever Tilley want with Michelangelo? I hope Space Cadet Renet ain't been messin' with time again._ _And if she has been playin' with her magic wand-thing, I hope she got better at it._

Raphael didn't have far to walk to his office, three blocks from Mikey's pizzeria. He took his time, enjoying the crisp autumn air, sunlight splaying through the maple-lined street, casting leaf-shaped shadows across the sidewalk. One thing he never took for granted since their ascent to fame, was enjoying daytime.

He tugged at the collar of his black t-shirt. _Still hate clothes though._ _Walked around naked for twenty-two years before all this…_ His bicep flexed, stretching the short sleeve to its limit.

Shifting his attention from the irritating confines of cotton enveloping his body, he chose to focus on the fair golden rays warming the very vein of his torment. The rules of the human world met the freedom he'd always sought for his family, right there on his sleeve. _In some ways we traded one prison for another._

" _We are the crowd, We're coming out, Got my flash on it's true—"_

Raphael's face scrunched in distaste. "What the hell is this?" He tugged his phone free of his jeans pocket. "Gah!" he snarled, swiping a finger over the screen. _How did Donnie say to answer the new phones? Gotta make the damn girly sound stop!_ "April's never playing with my phone again!" _And here I tried to be nice and let her whine about my brother for three and a-half hours last night. Never again!_

" _I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me, Pa-paparazzi—"_

"ANSWER!" Raph yelled, at the device flashing a picture of an all too familiar auburn-haired beauty.

"Raphie!" the sing-song female chirped before he could greet her.

Raphael flinched. "Don't call me that, Tea-cup."

"Aw, come on Raph. I've got great news for you. They want to make a show out of your bounty hunting gig. I can have the cameras meet with you this afternoon. We can have lunch, I'll bring the contracts. Big bucks, Raphie!"

Raphael stopped walking, his teeth grinding together as he struggled to focus on the dust motes swirling in the pale yellow rays warming his face. _I'm not gonna blow up on her. I'm not. Still…_ Some days he just wanted to strip down and go full ninja, racing over rooftops, flying through the air—

"Maddie, I already told ya, this ain't a gig. It's my job, and I ain't bein' followed around by no cameras. It. Ain't. Happenin'. I only agreed to this whole agent-publicist thing to keep the paparazzi off my tail. Can't you send cameras after Fearless?" Raph snickered as a vision of his brother being hovered over by a cameraman filled his head. "It'd be good for him, keep his mind off stuff… Maybe more on you. You'd like that wouldn't ya?"

Madeline's voice fell to a melancholy whisper, "Raphael, Leonardo has never felt that way about me. I mean come on, he's my best friend. I'd be a mutant teacup right now if it weren't for him."

 _True._ _But a turtle had to try._ Madeline 'tea-time' Davis had grown from bratty seven year old to a thirty-years-young gorgeous woman… who was also New York's most sought after publicist. Only Raphael didn't want a publicist at all, and usually Maddie respected that. But lately the girl wouldn't leave him alone. He wasn't on the radar for her enough he guessed. Leo with his rehab stint, Donnie with his Nobel prize, and Mikey always hamming it up. That only left him to drag into the limelight. Still, the girl was one of the good ones and he hated hurting her feelings.

Thankfully, Maddie never stayed bummed for long. She was like a human hummingbird… or an annoying fly. _Nah. She was too pretty to be a fly._

"Come on Raph. Think about it, ninja bounty hunter in action. I can see the headlines now!"

Raphael felt his stomach turn at the same time the phone cracked beneath his fingers. _Dammit. Donnie's gonna be pissed. That's the fourth one this month._ He held the shiny black object in front of his face, surveying the damage. _Eh. It still worked._ "Not. Happenin' Madeline. Now, drop it."

Maddie sighed. "Fine. But don't cry to me when—"

Maddie's picture faded from the screen like someone had pulled the plug on a TV set. _Well, it worked for another minute anyway._ Raph shrugged as he shoved the dead phone in his pocket, releasing the object to fish for his key-fab. He waved the small black gadget under the scanner affixed to the door, but nothing happened. "Damn technology," he grumbled, waving the fab beneath it again.

Movement in the unlit office, near his desk, caught his attention. It was slight… and quick. _Real quick._ Raph thrust his weight against the door, hearing the old wood splinter and crack beneath his second heave. "Grrr." He opted to abandon the door, knowing if someone _were_ in his office they'd be escaping through the alley.

Sneakers scraping against the concrete, echoed off the walls as he raced to the exit door only to find it shut tight, and upon a good pull, locked. He squint his eyes, surveying the alley. _I know I saw somethin'._

He waved the fab beneath the backdoor lock. This time it opened. "Leo would say I'm losin' it," Raph muttered. Motion sensor lights illuminated the room as he strode to his desk. _Why hadn't the lights come on for whoever was in here?_ Suspicious eyes scanned the surfaces, but he didn't have to look hard to find what didn't belong.

Taking a stunned step backward he steadied himself then reached forward, snatching the pictures of the three familiar faces taped to his monitor. Newspaper clippings. Of three jerks he hadn't had to look at or think about since Splinter passed away and Shredder left town, five years ago. Cold crept through him, settling in his core like a block of ice. _Maybe it's an old headline._

 _Three Inmates Escape Federal_

Raph swallowed a sour taste in his mouth as he read the date. _October 8, 2036._ _Dammit. What does this mean?_ He shook his head. _It's nothing. Coincidence._ _They were comrades before, why wouldn't they be in prison?_ Raph gnawed on his cheek. _But I did snatch up those wannabe Dragons who'd skipped out on bail, and they did have some weak moves, but moves nonetheless._

The corners of Raphael's mouth quirked upward, a gleam in his eye. "Wonder what the running reward is for you three losers." He flicked the clipping, his blood rushing, aging muscles coiling in anticipation. Raph pulled his chair out, grunting as he sat on something that crinkled beneath his weight reminding him that someone had in fact been in his office. "What the—"

He lifted up, pulling forth the small but thick envelope. Growling as he tugged it open, he resolved to find whoever was dumb enough to break into his office in the first place. His green eyes darted around the one room space. Nothing else appeared out of place. _And yet they didn't take anything._

Raph tugged the second half of the article free of the manila envelope. "The rest of the paper? Why not just leave the damn thing on my desk?"

 _Thief Anton Zeck, street thug Xever Montes, and Purple Dragons leader Hun escaped Federal Prison last night. Hun was serving three life sentences, and is considered especially dangerous…_

Raphael's eyes skimmed over the rest of the article, breathless as he paused over a name marked with yellow highlighter.

 _Article by: April O'Neil_


	4. Nemesis

Ever Tilley's frantic story sent tingles over Leo's skin, an itch to his palms, urging him to insist that they, his team of ninjas, not just the police, would help her. But lately _the team, his team_ , weren't really a _team_. They were individuals, with separate purposes, each with their own plans for their lives and how those days, hours, minutes, and seconds were spent. Besides, what she was telling him, about Renet, it was none of his business.

He watched Michelangelo's blue eyes widen, even knew the first thing his little brother would tell Ever, that is, when he found his voice.

Mikey stammered helplessly.

Then Raph said he was leaving, off to his _'I can't stand being under you in my profession too, so I'm gonna do the next best thing'_ job. He would've made a great cop, perfect for SWAT. But he sold himself short, wanted freedom. _Something I'm not sure we'll ever really achieve._

Leo sighed as the door shut behind Raphael, then he looked from Ever's red-rimmed eyes to Mikey's deer-in-headlights expression and decided he too had someplace to be.

"I've got to go, Mikey. If you need anything, just give me a call." Leo rest what he hoped was a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder, then offered his hand to Ever. "Mrs. Tilley, it was a pleasure to meet you in person. I'm sure Michelangelo will do everything he can to help you find Renet. And when you're ready to file a report at the station, we'll be eager to help you from there as well."

Ever's hazel eyes flashed, her tears evaporating beneath a sophisticated façade. "Leonardo, I wish I could say the same. Hopefully, I can talk some sense into your brother and we can resolve this quickly."

"Quickly?" Michelangelo squeaked.

Leonardo took a slow deep breath. "Mrs. Tilley, I can assure you Michelangelo has done nothing to endanger Renet. And I'm very sorry, I really must go."

As Leo turned for the door Ever's voice cut through him, "I never said he did anything to hurt her. It's what she's giving up for an ideal that concerns me. An ideal your brother put in her head."

"Me?" Mikey eeked out.

 _Why are you so worried about talking to this woman Little Brother?_ Leo wanted to ask, but was determined to give Michelangelo the opportunity to handle the matter himself. _I'm here if you need me. I'm here if you need me… He'll call if he needs me._

Leo met Ever's gaze straight on, speaking to her with carefully chosen words and deliberate clarity. "Mrs. Tilley, Renet is a smart girl, and my brother is a good man, perhaps you should have more faith in them. I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding and that Michelangelo can handle it."

 _I hope he can handle it. Of course he can handle it. He can handle it._

If Ever Tilley had anything else to say directed at him, Leonardo didn't hear it. He left the coziness of Mikey's pizzeria, along with his little brother's dilemma, behind him.

A spray of red maple leaves floated down from the canopy of sidewalk trees, swirling and spinning before drifting to their demise on the cracked concrete below. Leo shoved his hands in jeans pockets, breathing in the heavy odors of motor oil, gas, cigarette smoke, and fast food in a convoluted chorus of scents and flavors mixed with the crisp bite of early fall air. All the signs told him the seasons were changing even as the rhythm of the city remained the same.

He stopped by a little alternative medicine shop he frequented every few days, to buy some incense. The small sign perched in the window that read ' _mutants welcome_ ' sent a pang to his gut. When in uniform he was permitted in any building, ' _mutants welcome_ ' or not. He had a job to do. But as an everyday citizen there were plenty of establishments that refused to serve his kind.

 _I'm good enough to save the planet, and this city, good enough to go down in your history books, but I'm not good enough to shop in your stores, to use the same bathrooms, to eat in the same restaurants? Some of you fear and despise me even after my brother oversaw endless laboratory testings to satisfy you. Even as we put our lives on the line for you. Even if we follow your rules. We never fit, not exactly._ He sighed as he paid for his purchase.

The store owner, a mutant rabbit, thanked him for his business. The droop of her long velveteen ears told him that something wasn't right with it.

"Is everything going alright, Becca?"

The rabbit's eyes drifted over her shop, her voice coming out even softer than usual, "I shouldn't bother you with it, Officer Hamato. You're not in uniform. Besides he said that if I told anyone—" the rabbit was visibly trembling, "he'd destroy my store."

Leonardo's teeth set on edge. "Becca, whether I'm in uniform or not you can tell me. I'm still carrying a badge." Leo fished out his wallet to show her. "If it makes you feel like this is more official, here it is. Who's threatening you and why?"

"I shouldn't have said anything. It's just, this is my livelihood. I need my business," the rabbit looked at her cash register, "and every penny it brings in." She hesitated, then took a hard swallow and seemed to steel herself. "A man stopped me on my way to the bank yesterday. He took my deposit and told me he'd be charging me a regular safety fee to protect my business from," she held up her paws forming air quotes, "less desirable people who would otherwise put me out of business."

"What did this man look like?" Leonardo tried to remain impassive, controlling his every breath, demanding his muscles remain slack, but he had a good idea of who was harassing Becca. And they were probably tormenting every other business on this block as well. Wannabe Purple Dragons trying to make a come-back.

Well he'd put a stop to that, whether it be through legal channels or one of his nighttime ventures. But he had to let the rabbit describe the crook, just to be sure.

"He only had one eye, and his face was badly scarred. Officer Hamato, he was the most terrifying man I've ever met."

Leo stiffened, his stomach rolling like he'd been caught in a riptide. "One eye," he repeated, "scarred?"

 _Was Shredder back?_ It couldn't be. He was satisfied when sensei passed, even if it was from natural causes, Shredders only gripe with Splinters death was that he'd not caused it himself. If Shredder was back then maybe this was a message for him. _Has he been watching me?_

"Bbb," Leo stopped himself, tried to slow his racing heart. "Becca, do you know if any of the other shops on this street are being made to pay as well?"

The rabbit shook her head. "They had no idea what I was talking about when I asked them."

Leo nodded. "I see. How many times has he taken your money?"

Becca shrugged. "Just the once, yesterday."

 _Shredder has been watching me. How did I missed this? Wait. If he's watching me, then is he after my brothers too? And how long has he been watching?_

"Becca, I need for you to go down to the station and file a report." He didn't want to tell her it was his fault she'd been harassed. And he was fairly certain Shredder wouldn't bother her again. If he was back, and had done this pathetic harassment, one that his minions would usually handle, then this was a message… meant for him.

"Are you sure I'll be safe if I do that?" Becca's brown eyes seemed to tremble, and Leo wanted to reassure her but felt a more pressing need to get to his next destination, which he was sure would either confirm his suspicion or render him a paranoid idiot who should probably complete another stint in rehab.

"I'm pretty sure. Look Becca, I have to go. I'm really sorry, this happened to you. Please, call down to the station and make a report. They'll send someone by to check on you." Leo pulled the small paper bag containing his incense from the counter, offering the rabbit what he was pretty certain was a pathetic attempt at a smile.

He ducked out of the shop and picked up a jog straight for the cemetery. _How could I be such a fool? I led him right to me. All he had to do was follow me for a week and he'd see. Every day I visit my brother, every other day I go to Becca's shop then… I… visit…_

Leo's feet slowed to a halt as he came upon his end destination, but his heart thumped against his plastron in painful jerks. The grass covered earth was solid beneath his feet, an array of red, gold, and yellow leaves sprinkled across the lawn like confetti. Granite markers lined the perfect rows hard and sharp like teeth jutting up from their foundations. Most of his surroundings were as they should be, the memorial flowers adorning random stones, the grounds free of litter, trees shedding their last remnants of summer ready to hibernate for the winter. But one little detail about his father's plot confirmed his suspicions, and set his blood on fire.

The mere thought of his arch enemy coming to gloat, and taking great care to ensure that Leo knew it, was enough to push an already teetering Leonardo right to the edge.

There beneath the name Hamato Yoshi, in the incense burner Leo himself had placed there, burned three long sticks of incense. If indeed it was Shredder, he hadn't been gone long.


	5. Knowledge

April swallowed a sip of her vanilla latte, flinching as it burned upon hitting the churning pit that was her stomach. She hated fighting with Donatello as much as she regretted keeping things from him.

A bitter breeze blew, raising the hairs on the back of her neck. She shivered against the tingling sensation over the back of her head. A cursory glance around the parking lot showed her nothing of concern. She scanned the driver's seats of nearby cars but the glare of the sun left her with questionable results. "Don't start freaking yourself out now."

She waited by the rear entrance of the lab, knowing Donnie would come through the back way, especially when he saw the police tape blocking off the front.

Leo's phone would be blowing up soon. Donnie would call to tell him about the break in, Raph would be calling to talk about the breakout, and the station would be calling for him to come in on his day off and oversee the sudden barrage of cases. And after Ever Tilley finished with Michelangelo he might be calling his big brother too.

April frowned. _How did I get myself into this mess?_

As much as she hated what was happening she knew too much, about them, and the situation. She knew they needed each other, that they weren't exactly ready for the upcoming fight, that they'd become so... domestic… that their own worst enemy had managed to sneak up on them.

She blamed herself too, had been so caught up in her happiness with Donatello she'd reported stories that should've painted her the picture of what was to come, but hadn't really absorbed them. Then she got _the_ call. Everything she was told made perfect sense and it was upon them so fast she didn't know if she could manage to pull off what little she had. But she did. With a little help willing help, and some less willing, she was sure to have gotten their attention.

Yet she hadn't felt they'd listen if she just told them outright, male pride would've shone from two parts, denial from one, and total calculation of the odds of her being right or wrong from another. And there wasn't time for all of that. They wouldn't take her seriously, not with all that was going on in their lives. Besides she'd been asked not to tell. So she'd worked within certain parameters to wake them up, nudge them in the right direction. But in the process, she feared, it may have cost her Donatello.

She tugged her phone from her purse, checked her messages. There in her inbox was the question of the hour, well one of two important questions at the moment. The one most crucial to her wasn't the one she was reading, but she feared the answer to that one anyway.

 **Did you get it?  
**  
April took another sip of her coffee, watching Donatello approach the lab, his gray suit tailored to fit perfectly over the shell on his back, his purple tie just a little crooked. His glasses slipped on his face with the tilt of his head, with no nose bridge to hold them up. Her heart fluttered. _Will there ever come day that I stop feeling like this?_ His warm brown eyes narrowed on her.

She looked to her phone, replying...

 **Yes  
**  
As she stepped toward him, Donnie held up a hand. "Not now, April."

The gesture hurt her as much as his words, like he'd flung a door in her face. She knew how that felt, because he'd done just that the other night when she was caught in another lie. How she hoped he'd forgive all of this. When it was all over. How she wanted to be the one to tell him, when the time was right. _Soon. I'll tell them soon. Very soon. In fact, just as soon as they start asking the right questions.  
_  
April steeled herself, tossing her coffee cup in the trash and pursuing him anyway. Risky she knew, but she had to see this through. "This is business, Donnie."

He stopped, straightened himself, and seemed to grow two inches when he did. His movements slowed, were calculated.

 _You're so carefully controlled when you're this level of pissed, well when it comes to you and me anyway._

"Not now, April."

"Not now? What does that even mean? I need to talk to you." _I want to tell you, everything. Right now. But I can't. Not yet._ Her heart clenched, his icy demeanor sending an ache over her body. _I want to go back to the way things were before I ever answered her call. When it was me and you, charity events together, me covering front page articles highlighting your latest discoveries, your Nobel prize, every grant awarded your programs. When it was me and you and cozy nights on the couch, the scent of the balsam pine long ingrained your skin warming my insides as I breathed you in. When you looked upon me with an endless love, a timeless love, our love. It was in your eyes, on your lips, with every sweeping touch of your strong, but gentle, fingers in my hair. There was me and you and nothing else. I. Want. That. Back.  
_  
"Not," he enunciated, "now, April the _ex_ -girlfriend. And not now, April O'Neil nosey reporter. Not now," his Adams-apple bobbed as he swallowed, before looking her in the eye, "not ever."

 _Not ever._ Her guts churned, as her world tipped on its axis. He may as well have struck her down with his bo. _Not ever._ "Don't say that Donnie. You don't understand."

The sudden hardness of his eyes frightened her. Not for her safety but for whether or not she'd ever get him back.

"Please leave," he told her, as his lab assistant opened the door for him.

"I'm so glad you're here Mr. Hamato. It's so strange the lab is in perfect—"

Donnie held up a hand silencing the woman, who reminded April of Velma from Scooby-Doo. He looked at April through the small gap in the door, which was slowly closing in her face. "If you ever cared about mutants at all April, then you won't run a story about this."

With that she was left standing on the back entrance wondering how much longer she'd have to keep this up, and if she hadn't gone too far. 


	6. Sacrifice

Michelangelo watched his brothers one by one abandon him. _How could they?_

He'd never met Ever Tilley before but she gave Leo a look that could've shattered glass, and while it didn't faze Fearless it sure straightened Mikey's spine. _What do I know about talking to mothers?  
_  
Ever raised a perfect black eyebrow then pointed to a clean table. "Perhaps we should sit. I think you will find this conversation a bit _unique_ compared to others."

She removed a thick cream-colored coat that Mikey thought might be too warm for the early fall weather. From the bracelets sparkling and jangling on her wrists, and the rings adorning her manicured fingers he was pretty sure her entire ensemble was a status symbol. Her shiny high-heel shoes clicked on his linoleum floor, in a steady, one, two, one, two, rhythm that impressed upon him her impatience for the situation.

 _Whose situation is this really? I didn't do anything wrong. Not this time anyway.  
_  
"Mrs. Tilley, there's been some mistake. I haven't seen or talked to Renet since 2015. She wrote me a few letters, but I'm seventeen years older than her so…" Mikey frowned as he reluctantly settled into a chair opposite the socialite.

Little wrinkles creased around Ever Tilley's eyes, the corners of her mouth tipping upward into a smug smile. "I know that Michelangelo. Just as I know how gently you tried to let her down because of your age difference. But, Renet adores you, and the gap is gradually closing. She's maturing enough it will soon become irrelevant."

As he listened to her, Ever sat straight-backed, hands folded before her. She faced him dead on and spoke-matter-of-factly. She grew silent after addressing their closing age gap. She stared at him with drawn lips, a stony expression, and hazel eyes that packed enough contempt in them he considered crawling under the table to escape her. Michelangelo suddenly found his mouth so dry he was certain if he opened it sand would pour out. "Can I get you a soda, or some water, Mrs. Tilley?"

Her laugh was a haughty dry sound that made Mikey shudder. "You may call me Ever. And no, thank you. I'd like to continue if you don't mind." She raised her eyebrows as if daring him to deny her. It was hardly a question.

 _I've fought aliens from outer-space less terrifying than this woman!_ _Is this a social-status thing or are all moms this scary?_ "Uh-sure." _But is it okay if I get a drink?_ Uncertain of socialite etiquette Mikey opted to attempt to stay still. Something, that even with a lifetime of practice, he still found difficult.

Ever gave him a disapproving frown as he fidgeted in his chair. Gradually, he stopped moving, his eyes locked on the frigid woman. "Renet just had her 21st birthday," she began, "She's been studying under Lord Simoultaneous for 17 years now, and it's almost her time to reign as master."

"Renet will be the new Time Master?" _Why has this never occurred to me before?_ _Of course she will be. She was his apprentice when we met. Ooops. I interrupted her._

Mrs. Tilley squint her eyes, tapping a heavily ringed finger on the table. "Michelangelo, when Renet ascends to master she will become transient, as all Time Masters are during their rule."

 _Transient. T-r-a-n-s-i-e-n-t. That sounds like a word Donnie would know._ Since his brother wasn't there that didn't leave Michelangelo much choice, so he asked, "What, what's that mean?"

Ever drew in a long breath, the way Donnie did when he was tired of explaining something again and again, only this woman hadn't even explained it to him for the first time yet. Her lip curled before she spoke again as if it were beneath her to speak to him. "She will not live in this plane, but will move from one to the next governing time. Ensuring that the natural flow is not disturbed and resolving any conflicts that arise." 

_What? Wait—that sounds worse than living in a sewer!_ "But that would mean-"

"That you could never be together." Ever nodded, her your-beneath-me expression and lack of warmth rubbed Michelangelo the wrong way, and she appeared to not only know it, but enjoy it. "Not during her rule, and she's looked into your future. She's knows it will be too late when her reign is over." 

_Too late? As in what? I'll be…_ Michelangelo swallowed then shook his head. _No. This isn't about me, and as much as I like Renet I can't let it be about me. This should be about her, her life, what she wants, and from the look of it, her mother doesn't care._ "Mrs. Tilley, we're just friends. I— I would miss writing to Renet. Can a transient still do that? Can she keep her friends, or speak to her family, have any kind of relationship with anyone she cares about? Do you realize what you're asking her to give up? A family of her own, the security of home... her friends?"

Ever sniffed, looked down her nose at him. "It is not only her birth right Michelangelo, but the very thing she's trained her entire life for. And if you think I don't know how the nature of your letters has gradually shifted over the years, you are sorely mistaken. Renet has seen two futures. One where she forfeits her birthright and you are together, and one where she accepts it and you go on without her. She wants to forfeit because the time draws near for her ascension, as does the time where you will meet again for the first time since you were children." 

_I don't know about us being kids, we were teenagers._ Mikey resisted the urge to smile recalling how the Time Masters Apprentice had tumbled out of the sky and he caught her. Well she kinda landed on him. But he was trying to catch her. It was true he was smitten with her from the start. She was smart, funny, and a great fighter. He felt his insides warm. And she was a little clumsy, got herself into scrapes just like him. He had written to her, and she had written to him. He took a deep breath, knew Mrs. Tilley wasn't wrong, that they'd decided to have lunch sometime soon. But he'd not heard from her since, to actually schedule the reunion. Michelangelo sat up straight, looked Ever Tilley in her eye. "Me, or no me, this is something she should decide on her own. And it's her life Mrs. Tilley, doesn't that matter to you?"

Ever Tilley's nostrils flared, her eyes flashing with a fury that reminded him of Raphael's. he could almost see flames rise up in the black moons at their wood colored center. "How dare you! Of course it matters!" She took two controlled breaths, her face smoothing into an expressionless mask as she continued. "You see, she's run off before giving me a chance to explain the reward for serving your time as Master. When she's completed her reign she is gifted with the privilege of going back to the point in time she became master, and she gets to live the life she would've, had she never been chosen."

 _Would he remember all of this, if that happened? Would it be this him, if he lived two different lives? How did this work? I wish Donnie were here, he'd know._ "Isn't that like an alternate reality or something?"

"Time is a funny thing Michelangelo. It takes only one tiny stone in the water to make many ripples. Now, level with me young man, have you seen my daughter?"

Mikey shrugged. "No. I really haven't."

She studied him a moment. He suspected to determine if he might not be telling her the truth, but he didn't care, because he _was_ telling the truth. "Well, if you see her please share with her what I've told you."

Michelangelo leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms. "Sure, but I won't pressure her to change her mind one way or the other."

Ever's already burning-timber gaze raged like wildfire. "You say that now, but let me show you something, then I'll go and you can do whatever you feel is best." She pushed back her sleeve, depressed a sapphire stone on one of her bracelets and Michelangelo's world dropped out from beneath him.


	7. Betrayal

"Whoever they were Mr. Hamato, they came specifically for the compound. Not another thing is out of place, nothing."

Donatello tried to push thoughts of April from his head, to pay attention to what was nothing short of a crisis. But despite what was a feeble effort at best, his assistant's voice still trailed away.

He didn't know why April thought lying to him to the point of a break-up, then following him around and tormenting him with her presence was a good idea, but he was getting sick of it. If she wanted to be done with him she should just go. In honor of everything they had, she could at least leave him with his dignity, and stop rubbing Casey Jones in his face at every turn. _Why is she doing this?_ It didn't make any sense. One day they were blissfully happy, the next she was keeping secrets and sneaking around.

"Mr. Hamato? Sir?"

His assistant blurred into focus as he passed through the rear entry hall into the main lab. "I'm sorry Kate, what were you saying?"

"I've had the techs running a complete inventory since I realized MBC-26 was gone this morning." The brunette pushed her coke-bottle glasses up higher on the bridge of her nose and stood straight before him, a clipboard under one arm.

His head hurt, swimming with April O'Neil, Casey Jones, lies, tabloids, and now a missing compound that could end mutants forever. He had to compartmentalize. In here, his focus was the lab and the compound. _Surely, this is a mistake._ "Is it possible it's just been moved?" But he knew it wasn't. He was the only one with access to it.

Kate shook her head, her straight hair swishing over her cheeks. She fumbled with her clipboard then dropped it. "I've looked everywhere, Sir. The uh- vault was open. It's like whoever took it wanted us to know it was gone."

Donnie looked from his fidgeting assistant to the open, bank-size door behind his desk. He marched across the room, into the vault, past his bo-staff, his retired mask hanging next to it, stopping before the back wall where he kept the most dangerous compounds he worked with. _Kate is right. Only one thing is missing._ Donatello ran trembling fingers over the empty space, felt the green draining from his face. "Have you reviewed the security footage? And who alerted the press?"

His assistant shifted on the balls of her feet outside the vault. "The footage doesn't show anything. And no one contacted the press. I know how dangerous this compound is. Sir, I would never."

Donnie's chest tingled, his spine drawing straight as if someone were pulling a string taut. No one was allowed in his vault. No one had the code. He examined the lock, found it undamaged. His feet were thousand pounds stones, his legs numb as he made his way to his desk. His pulse thrummed in his finger tips, each stroke on the keyboard recoiling in his heart like the stings of a severe lashing. "Who called the police?"

"No one Sir, they were here when I got here, said someone called in a tip on a robbery here in the lab. I came in, found the vault open and the compound gone. I asked them not to report it until they spoke to you. I called you. Then I began running an inventory to determine if anything else was missing."

The back of Donatello's throat hurt. The screen before him kept blurring as he struggled not to think what his brain wanted to scream, but he didn't want to believe. He selected the surveillance footage from the night before. As the video played nothing happened. He fast forwarded through it, relying on his skilled eyesight to catch something, anything.

Then, three-fourths of the way through the time stamp blinked but did not change. It was on a loop. He squint, replaying it again, then played the day prior at the same time. A bitter taste rose in his mouth, his stomach lurching, as he found what he was looking for.

April had brought him lunch, supposedly wanting to talk, but the conversation had been strained, ending in yet another argument. There he was talking to her, then, there he was leaving her to answer a question for a lab tech. In just a few minutes she'd done something on his computer, slipped an object under the lip of his desk, and taken his keycard without him noticing. Donatello's blood flared. _Some ninja I've become!_

"Mr. Hamato, the officer wants to speak with you. He wants details about the compound."

Donnie swallowed hard, resisting the urge to launch his computer across the room in a very Raphael-like tantrum. _How could she betray me like this? And why? WHY?_ Feeling the keyboard snapping beneath his grip he released it, took a breath and managed to direct his assistant. "Send the officer away. Tell him my brother is Sergeant Leonardo Hamato, and I will call him to handle this case directly. And Kate-"

"Yes Sir?"

"Have him sign a confidentiality statement before he leaves. In fact, have everyone here sign one. I have to make a phone call… or two."

As she rushed from the room he reached under his desk, felt the envelope, and tugged it free. His hands were shaking as he ripped it open, pulling the letter from the manila-colored enclosure.

 _Hi Donnie,_

 _I'm so sorry. You must be so sick of hearing that. But I am. I know you won't understand but I had to do this. I had to help her. She was going to do this alone and it just got bigger than what she can handle. Time has grown short. It's happening too fast._

 _You're vault combination melts my heart Love. I thought at first it might've been your mutation day, or the day you became a citizen. But it's still the day we met… I thought you would've changed it from that by now. I'm glad you didn't. I love you too and I hope you can forgive me someday… even if it doesn't feel like a possibility right now._

 _I'm doing this for the entire Hamato clan Donatello._

 _I love you,_

 _April_

Donatello stared at the parchment, typed in an elegant font that made his lip curl. She'd taken her time with this, planned it out. She'd betrayed him. Stolen from him. Lied to him. And what she'd taken, couldn't even affect her at all. So why? He closed his eyes, took a deep breath then reached for his phone.

"Cccc-" his voice cracked. He cleared his throat. "Call, April."

He wasn't surprised when the phone rang until it went to voice mail. He pressed his lips shut, determined not to give her the satisfaction of his outrage. If she wanted to play games, she'd messed with the wrong turtle.


	8. Father

Raph stared at the words _article by: April O'Neil_ in smudged black ink, blurred by the bright yellow highlight. Something wasn't right. Neither of the office doors were broken. _It's like someone… had a key. And how did April write a story about a breakout that happened last night when she'd spent most of it crying on my shoulder?_

He knew how he'd get the answers. Raphael's jaw shifted as he reached in his pant pocket, tugging his phone free. He'd almost forgotten he'd broken it, if the crack hadn't been there to remind him. It surprised him when the screen actually lit up. _So, I didn't break it after all. Well, sorta didn't. At least I can wait a while before telling Donnie._

"Call April," he commanded the device. _I'll just ask her what's going on. There must be some kind of explanation._ Yet the tightening of his stomach told him it wasn't going to be as simple as he hoped.

The phone rang twice before she answered, "You're not supposed to be calling me, Raphael. You're supposed to call Leo."

He straightened in his chair, realized his mouth was hanging open, shut it and knew from the tone of her voice, she was about to piss him off. "Huh? What do ya mean I'm supposed to call Leo? If I wanted to call Leo, I woulda called Leo. No, April, I meant to call you."

The silence on the other end of the line did little to set him at ease. His heart picked up pace, the twinge in his stomach forming into a small knot. "You still there?" It came out a little nastier than he'd intended, and when she didn't respond his temper flared. "April, I asked you a question. You still there?"

He could hear her gulp on the other end of the line. Her voice came out low and he'd swear she sounded scared. "Raph, look, I can't talk about this, not yet. I want to, I do. It's just, it's complicated. And— I think someone is following me."

The tightness in his stomach reached up into his chest, wrapping around him like a belt cinched to the last notch. "Where are you? I'll come to you."

April's shaky sigh was barely audible. "It's all tied together, all of it. Ever, the breakouts, the compound, Shredder, it's all related. I shouldn't tell you that much. She made me promise. She said she could handle it. But I didn't believe her, she's running out of time and it's getting out of hand. Please Raphael call—oh, no—"

The metallic clinks and bounces of a phone dropping hit his ears but he felt it in his chest. April never screamed. He waited for it, expected it, from the struggling sounds hitting his ears. But she didn't make a sound.

"April!" he yelled, but knew she wouldn't answer. With a racing heart, Raphael stood helplessly in his office, vanilla walls closing in on him.

His teeth set on edge, his hand crushing the phone in his palm. He launched what was left of it into the wall so hard it lodged there, hanging half out like a three-dimensional night light. _Great, now how am I going to call my brothers?_

"Thirty-eight years and you still can't keep your temper under control," he grumbled shoving his rolling chair out of his way, bumping his shell on the family photo that hung on the wall in the process. His eyes flew to the red-haired woman in the photo, who he'd come to love like a sister, his brainiac brothers arms wrapped around her. _If anything happens to her…_ "What have you gotten yourself into April?"

Raph closed his eyes, tried to clear his swimming head. _What do I do first? What did she say? Call Leo. But I need to tell Donnie. Where was she? I've got to get to a phone. Why didn't I let Donnie put in a hard-line here?_ _Mikey's close. I'll use the phone at his place… or…_ Raphael's heart wrenched. _I'll take a cab to the cemetery._

If Leo thought no one knew his routine he couldn't be more wrong. Everyone knew. Only Raph had been determined not to wallow in constant mourning of his father's death, at least not as publicly as Leo had. It wasn't that he didn't miss Splinter. He resented the tears he'd soaked his pillow with, but they'd been shed in private and he was determined that not another living soul ever know about them.

He bolted from the office, into the street and hailed a cab. "Calvary Cemetery! Step on it!"

The cabbie stared at him, open mouthed, eyes wide. "You're the warrior dude!"

Raphael rolled his eyes. "Cemetery now!" He wanted to grab the guy and throw him out of the cab, even thought about it for a half-second, decided not to, then thought about it again as he sized the guy up.

The cabbie flinched. "Look man, whoever's at the cemetery ain't goin' nowheres. Last I checked dead people don't get around much."

Raphael leaned toward the man, his teeth bared. " _You_ ain't gonna get around much if you don't move."

The cabbie inched back slowly, turned around and pulled out into traffic. "They say you're the asshole of the bunch."

Raph scoffed. "Yeah. That's me, the Asshole." At least names didn't bother him anymore.

They crept along, moving in spurts as traffic stopped, and went, then stopped again. Raph fidgeted in the back seat, his hands clenching into fists, then opening and balling up again. His muscles gathered, trembled with need of release. _What happened to her? What'd she get into and why didn't she come to any of us?_

He tried to replay the prior night in his head. _Did I miss something?_ But she'd only vented her frustrations about Donnie. Some crap about Casey, a party, a tabloid, the usual stuff. Raphael's mind came to a screeching halt as the cab pulled up to the cemetery. _She had been texting, playing with his phone and hers all night, in between her sniffles and ice cream. And who was the 'she' that made her promise, and what did she promise? Was it Renet? Ever? What the hell is going on?_

Raph threw a wad of cash at the cab driver and ran up the hill, the cool fall breeze doing little to soothe him. Leaves scraped the ground, rushing around his sneakers crunching beneath them as he slowed to a walk.

He came upon his father's plot, marked with the Hamato crest, incense burning, sending a trail of smoke up in the air wafting toward him beckoning him closer. The scent of sandalwood hit him like a knife to the gut, summoning memories of his beloved father. Raph's gaze travelled the stone, the incense, the crest, stopping on his father's name. For a second he felt those warm furry arms around him, his father not saying anything, just loving him, despite his mistakes, his temper, and whatever mishap had befallen him.

Raph didn't know how Leo did it every week, coming there. It was like feeling his death all over again, and he couldn't keep doing it. Even as he stood there he wanted to run. His toes bunched in his shoes, ready to launch him.

He stared at his brother, the prodigal son. The perfect one. The exemplary student. The leader of their clan. The first born. The self-righteous, perfectionist, and used-to-be arrogant ass that, even now, he sometimes could still be. And where Raph used to resent him, at that very moment, with the crushed expression on his eldest brothers face, Raph wanted to hold him up, promise to carry _him_ for a while. After all he'd carried them, even when Splinter was alive, he'd looked after them. And while Raph hated that, being told what to do, that control that Leo sought over him, somewhere deep inside he was glad he was there, knew his brother had his back and loved him fiercely for it.

Leo's head turned, his eyes widening at sight of him. "What? Is something wrong?" Then Leo shook his head, held up a hand to clarify. "I mean something _is_ wrong, I have to tell you about it, but, _what_ … _why_ are you here?"

As quick as that the fire rose in Raph's belly. "What? I can't visit Sensei? Do I need permission from you? Sorry, I'd call first but," Raph thrust a finger toward the headstone. "He ain't exactly gonna answer."

Leo closed his eyes, pinching the space between them, and Raph wanted to punch him. He hated it when he did that. It was like he was a parent dealing with a kid. "Raph, that's not what I meant. It's just—"

"It doesn't matter. Forget it. My phone's broke and I knew you'd be here…" Raph looked away, not wanting to see the disapproval in his brother's eyes. "I— something's going on with April. She's in some kind of trouble."

His brother closed the space between them in seconds. "What's wrong, tell me everything. Shredder's back. Does he have her? Where is she?"

Raphael stumbled back, stammered out his question at the same time Leo asked him one. "What? Wait, what? What do you mean Shredder is back?"

"What do you mean April's in trouble?" His brother's question sounded more like an accusation to Raph, but before he could confront him Leo's phone rang. He pulled the device from his pocket, frowning at it. "Did you tell Donnie, about April?"

April's voice rang through Raphael's head. _Ever, the breakouts, the compound, Shredder, it's all related._ "Wait, Leo, she mentioned Shredder too."

Leo sighed. "Raph, did you tell Donnie about April?"

Raph gave a curt shake of his head. "No. Phone's broke. Came to you first."

"Tell me everything on the way."

"To where?"

"Donnie's lab."


	9. MBC-26

Leonardo's head hurt with the accounts of Raphael's break in, Shredder's return and his minions break-out, and April going missing, while Donnie swore she stole a drug of some sort from his lab.

Leo missed running missions with his brothers, but not the kind where one of his family member's lives was on the line. A mission itself put them in danger, but they didn't always start out that way. Not knowing where she was, or what was happening to her. If she was even still alive. Leo glanced at his slightly taller, genius brother. _You may be pissed, but somewhere in there you are freaking out. Aren't you? You have to be. Right?_

"This way, there's a conference room in here." Donnie guided them down the hall into a plain room with a long table surrounded by heavy office chairs in the center.

Raph paced back and forth. "I ain't sittin'. April's out there somewhere and we gotta find her!"

 _Some reactions to intense situations never change._ Leo rubbed his face. He was still trying to absorb a ton of information that came from nowhere, sprang up on him the same way they were thrust into civilization. "Raph, we've got to figure this out or we won't know where to look for her."

Donatello scoffed. "I don't think she was taken. I think she stole the compound and faked a kidnapping."

 _Really Donnie? Has it come to that between you?_

Raph glared at Donatello. "Since when do you think April is the villain?"

"Since she's been sneaking around lying and breaking into our offices and stealing things!" Donatello slapped a crumpled piece of parchment on the table. He sighed, his voice dropping to a crushing low. One that told Leo, his brother was still very much in love with April but at a loss as to what had become of them. Leo knew because at one time he'd experienced that same feeling. Donnie frowned. "I don't even feel like I know her anymore."

Raph's pacing came to an abrupt halt. He turned a skeptical eye to the document. "What's it say?"

Leo leaned forward looking over the paper. _There's more going on here. She's telling you there is Donnie. So why don't you believe her? More importantly, what is it she's trying to tell us?_

Donnie huffed. "That she's sorry. I have her on video messing with my computer, stealing my key card and leaving this in an envelope under my desk."

Raphael swallowed. "What—what'd the envelope look like?"

"Like an envelope?" Donnie snarled. "What does that matter?"

Raphael's jaw shifted. "Well someone left one for me too. Maybe it was April. Cos' nobody busted up nothin' they didn't even take anythin', they just left the article about Shredder's goons."

It was rare that Raph and Donnie squared off, but Donnie was livid, and Raph, well Raph was Raph.

 _Fighting isn't going to help us._ Leo held up his hands. "Alright, stop, stop. Let's go over the facts, see if we can figure this out. Raph, please, sit."

Raphael threw his arms up. "Sure, let's have tea too! Maybe we can have a siesta while who knows what happens to April!"

Leo sighed. "Raph, how can we help April if she's left us clues that we haven't pieced together. What do we know?"

"That she's a liar and a thief, who never really got over Casey Jones?" Donatello jerked a chair out from the table, plopping into it with a pouting behavior Leo would've normally attributed to Raph.

"Okay, can we just put our feelings aside for a minute and figure this out? Shredder is obviously involved. April mentioned him to Raph, and Becca described him to me. And someone was at Splinters grave this morning, burning incense that came from the same shop I buy it at. I'm pretty sure that was a message."

"And April stole my compound." Donatello shook his head, his shoulders slumping.

"And maybe April broke into my office and put the article in there. But how'd she write an article last night about a break out that just happened while she was with me?"

Donnie's head flew up. "She was with you?"

Raph shrugged. "Yeah, cryin' about you."

 _And this is what it must look like when it's me having it out with Raph._ Leo shook his head. "Can we focus, here? Maybe someone tipped April off about the break-out and she wrote the article, had it ready to print. She would've only had to email it to the right person for it to make the morning paper. And she could've done it after she left you last night Raph."

Donatello's jaw flexed. "Or did she stay the night?"

Raphael smacked the table, green eyes searing. "Are you serious right now, Donnie? How could you even ask that? She's a sister to me, you're my brother and I'd never!"

"Enough!" Leo stood, pinching the space between his eyes as he started to pace the room. He took a calming breath. "What is she trying to tell us? What does she want us to do?" He stopped, looked at his brothers. "Both of you try to remember what she said, anything that might point us in some direction."

Raph closed his eyes. "She said it was all tied together. Ever, the breakouts, the compound, Shredder, it's all related."

Leo nodded. "Okay. Let's start with the obvious. Shredder would break out his goons. So we know what that's about. Donnie, what does this compound do?"

Donatello's eyes locked on Leo, his eyes widening. "It is a mutagen blocking compound."

Raph's head moved as if he were waiting for Donnie to elaborate.

"And, that means what?" Leo pressed.

"It means what it says. The government wanted me to create a serum that could be delivered via inhalant, injection, or drink, that would fuse to DNA so that if someone was exposed to mutagen nothing would happen to them. It basically creates an immunity to mutagen, the way April is. But I'm not done testing it. I don't know how it will affect mutants themselves. Until I know if it's safe we can't distribute it. And—"

Leo and Raph nodded. "And?"

"If it's tied to Ever Tilley, or has anything to do with the Tilley family, it could involve time travel. If the wrong person had the compound and went back in time—" Donnie swallowed.

Leo's heartbeats came in slow, jerking thuds, his breaths uncomfortably short, tight and forced. "They could take the compound back in time to the right moment and there would never be any mutants."

A long uncomfortable silence settled over them.

"Why didn't April just come to us? How would she even know this was going to happen?" Raph rubbed the back of his head, looked toward the floor.

Donnie sunk deeper into his chair, his long legs not permitting him to slouch by much. "Because we wouldn't listen. We were too busy being stars, scientists, bounty hunters, troubled cops— Sorry, Leo. Mourning our father, adjusting to normal human life." He took off his glasses, rubbed his face. "Maybe she stole the compound to keep it out of Shredders hands."

Leo frowned. Donnie's cop remark didn't bother him. He knew it was true. He'd failed worst of the three of them at adjusting, and he was the leader. And from the looks of it, he'd failed them again. "Only now, chances are Shredder has April and the compound."

"Guys, has anybody talked to Mikey since this morning?" Raph tugged on the collar of his shirt. "I mean, what if Renet didn't run away. What if Shredder has her?"

"The only piece left missin' in Shredders anti-mutant recipe _is_ a time master." Donnie agreed. "But I haven't talk to him. I've been busy with this compound fiasco."

Leo shook his head. _What better motivation for a love-struck girl to operate a scepter than to kidnap they guy she's got a thing for._ Shredders next stop, if he did in fact have Renet Tilley, would be to collect Michelangelo. Leo motioned them to the door. "Guys, we've got to get to the pizzeria. And somebody get Mikey on the phone."

Raph cleared his throat. "Uh— you call him, Donnie."

Donatello cast a sideways glance at Raphael. "Why me?"

"My phone, didn't— uh, ahem— it didn't make it."

"AGAIN?" Donnie yelled.

Leo stopped, reached in his pocket and tossed his phone to Raph. "Use mine. Get him on the phone and find out what Ever Tilley had to say to him."

Raph caught the phone then stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong? It works just like yours," Donnie asked, looking over Raph's shoulder. His eyes widened as he looked at the screen. "Oh."

"What?" Leo's head was spinning. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. _Why was there always more? Wasn't this enough?_

Raph held the phone out to him. "It's for you."


	10. Decisions

April's head whipped back from the force of the blow to her cheek. He hadn't been kind enough to remove his glove, but he did use his palm. As she spit out the blood pooling in her mouth from her split lip, she was grateful for that. Those razors would've been more than she could bear at the moment. Her chain-bound hands rose to wipe her face and she dared lift icy blue eyes on his half melted face.

Shredder scowled. "Foolish girl. Beg your friend to obey, or suffer far worse than a tap on the cheek."

Beside her, Renet whimpered. "April, I'm so sorry."

"Don't do it, Renet." April glared at Shredder, determined to keep her eyes on his as his closed fist rushed towards her face. At the last second she rolled back popping her feet up to block the blow. The force of it hit her feet pushing her backward ramming her shoulder hard into the concrete she was chained to, but she suspected it was better than the blow to the face that would've knocked her out.

Shredder snarled as he spun around and kicked her in the side, shoving the air from her lungs like a deflated balloon.

"STOP! I'll do it!" Renet screamed.

The room darkened as April wondered if her lungs would ever open up. _Don't do it Renet. Please don't do it._ April tried to push her chest from the floor but couldn't lift her chin. Her organs screamed, burning for oxygen, and she focused on Splinter's teachings to keep her conscience calm while her body panicked. But it wasn't easy.

"Wise choice, Apprentice." Shredder's boots scuffed the concrete near April's face and she opened her eyes to a blurry image of him, arms crossed standing over her.

"But I— I need the scepter." Renet swallowed, as she scooted closer to April.

Finally, April's lungs opened up. She took in a breath in, felt a sharp pain in her ribs and felt the air rush out of her again. Trying again she drew in slow, tiny breaths, filling her lungs and drawing out the pain into a tender ache that ended in a sharp jolt. Her vision sharpened and she pushed herself to her knees. "Shredder," she gasped, "don't do this. It's over. Hamato Yoshi is—" it never got any easier to say, "he's gone. Let it be over. You won."

Shredder ignored her, wheeling on Renet with a backhand that knocked the headdress from her, revealing a tumbling mass of long blonde locks. Renet's eyes flashed. "I told you I'd do it!"

His teeth bared he drew close to Renet's face. "And you say you need the scepter. Don't toy with me insolent child." Spit sprayed from his chapped, disfigured lips.

"I'm not! I do, I need the scepter." Renet waved her hands towards him, yanking her chains then gritting her teeth.

Shredder laughed. "I know. I just want you to know who's in charge before we begin this little… adventure." He snapped his fingers and the sound of mechanical legs stomping across the floor came before Xever's wretched fish form filled the room. Scepter in hand.

Renet's brown eyes widened. "The Master's scepter. But— how did you get the Master Scepter?"

"My comrades and I—" A sick toothy smile spread over Xever's hideous face, "dispatched of the Time Master."

"No!" Renet gasped, tears filling her eyes. "No!" She yanked on the chains. "No!"

As Shredders laugh, echoed by Xever's cackle filled the chamber, echoing off the walls, Renet struggled until April's hand wrapped around her friend's shoulder.

"Very good. Now you understand. Your job is to obey. Xever, give the new Time Master her scepter." Shredder instructed.

Xever held the scepter out to Renet whose shoulders were hunched over the chains that bound her, head dropped. "You don't understand, if I use the that scepter I become Master. And I can never,—" She lifted her head, revealing a cascade of tears down her cheeks. "The choice was supposed to be mine. Not like this. Not… like this."

Xever jabbed her with the time managing device. Renet lunged toward him, snatching the scepter then pointing it at him while Shredder grabbed April up by her throat.

"That will be enough Time Keeper, or your friend dies." Shredder held a gasping, red face April, dangling from the meat of his gloved hand.

Renet lowered the scepter, her features sharp beneath the tears stains of her cheeks. "Release me. I can't take us anywhere like this."

Shredder lowered April to her feet, released the gasping choking reporter and pointed his finger at Xever. The fish scrambled to unchain both women from the ground but handed the long end of a chain-bound April to Shredder.

"You are my insurance, Miss O'Neil. If the Time Keeper disobeys, you suffer." He turned toward Renet whose face contorted as if she'd smelled death. "Now let's go."

"Where to?" She glared at him.

Shredder scoffed. "Japan, 1999."

Renet's eyes widened. "No."

Shredder jerked April close, held the razor edges of his gloves to her jugular. "Last warning." He looked to Xever. "Did you get the compound when you took them?"

Hun whistled from the doorway and April's eyes flew to the vial floating up in the air and spinning before landing in his hand. "Fishboy, did not. I did." He strolled toward them, eyeing April. "Mind if I come along?"

The not-deformed corner of Shredders mouth curled into a sick smile as his good eye drifted from Hun to April and back knowingly. April's stomach turned.

"Hey! My name is not Fishboy!" Xever protested.

Shredder thrust a hand into the fish's chest sending him flying into a wall. He bounced off, landing in a heap. "There's no room for mutants on this mission. My Tang Shen will be frightened of such abominations."

April felt air hit her eyeballs they'd grown so wide. They flew from the vial in Hun's hand, to the scepter. Japan 1999. Tang Shen. Mutant blocking compound. _No. Oh no. No._ "Kill me, Shredder!" she heard herself scream. "Don't do it, Renet! Let him kill me!" Her teeth ground together, tears streaking her cheeks as she struggled, the metal cuffs digging into her wrists. "I'd rather die than let you harm them."

Shredder laughed. "I'm not going to hurt your precious turtles. They'll just never exist." He tossed April's chain to Hun and latched his hand onto Renet's bicep, yanking her close to his mouth. "Japan, 1999. Now."

Renet's eyes met April's. "Donatello would never forgive me if I let anything happen to you, April."

Even as often as they'd fought in recent days… she was really fighting for him, without him knowing. And she knew two things to be true. One, whether the brainy brother would ever forgive her or not, he would still love her and always come to defend her. And two, Renet was right, because he'd give up his existence in a second if it would save her life.

So the Time Master tilt her scepter, forgoing her choice, risking the lives of her friends to save the one beside her, and April's world spun in to oblivion.


	11. Glimpse

Michelangelo didn't remember time travel involving a suction feeling, one of being popped through a vortex like a cork wedged in a bottle. Not like the sensation the time travelling jewelry gave him. But then Renet had always just created a door and they'd jumped in. Well, except when they'd tried to go home and there was lightning, like there was right then.

That was when fate interfered and dropped them— lush grass met his jean covered rump with a thud and he grunted.

He stood up, looked around and sensed Ever behind him. "Where am I, Mrs. Tilley?" he demanded, spinning around to glare at her.

Ever smoothed nonexistent wrinkles from her clothes. "Honestly, Michelangelo, look around you."

Mikey's eyes searched the small area, realizing he was on a small patch of green on a garden rooftop. "Uh, Mrs. Tilley-" He glanced over the edge, recognized most of the surroundings, noticed the upgrades and replacements. He straightened. He knew this building. His pizzeria was at the bottom of it.

"Shh, you're a ninja, certainly you know to be quiet. Come on, let's go inside and see what your future with my daughter looks like. Mind you, this is the one waiting for you after she's served her lifetime." She pointed a manicured finger toward the rooftop entrance and Mikey followed her down the steps which took him into an apartment. Mikey was floored by the renovations and recognized his taste in decorating immediately. "You need more space when Renet moved in, so you remodeled the building."

Michelangelo's lips parted, but Ever's hand flew up swatting at his mouth. He ducked just in time to avoid her, grabbing her tiny hand, careful not to crush it. He guided her toward him and lowered his face to hers. "Mrs. Tilley, I'm only going to say this once. Do not hit me." The woman's eyes widened in surprise and Michelangelo thought he saw what might be a hint of respect. So he tried his luck. "By the way, you are really giving me a hard time here and I've not done anything wrong. I want to know where I am, why I'm here and what is going on. Now."

Ever gripped Michelangelo's wrist, but it was so thick her fingers didn't quite close. She pressed a button on her bracelet and a sort of bubble formed around them. "Now, they won't be able to see or hear us. That way." She pointed a free hand toward the sounds of laughter tumbling down the hall.

As they walked down the narrow corridor Mikey noticed a crayon drawing of an orange cat on the door of a bedroom. He felt the corners of his mouth tip up as warmth rose beneath his plastron. He tapped on the door, and it opened revealing a pale pink room with brightly colored bedding and curtains. Above the bed, in big multi-colored letters was the name Kayla spelled out.

"Her name means keeper of the keys. Very time keeper appropriate." Ever nodded her approval.

"I don't understand," Mikey told her. "Donnie said we couldn't have kids." His eyes searched Ever's face then scanned the room again, undeniable hope blossoming in his chest.

"You can't. You adopted. The day they approved mutant adoptions you and Renet were there filling out the paperwork." Ever smiled, and for the first time Mikey thought it sincere. There was a newfound warmth to her eyes. "Do you want to see her?"

"Gods yes," Mikey blurted out before he'd thought about it.

Ever guided him down the hall, to the living room where he saw Future Him tossing a giggling toddler in the air, Renet cuddling with an orange cat on the couch.

"Be careful, Mikey," Renet giggled, and it sounded the same to Michelangelo as it had the day he'd met her. His heart swelled, moist heat burning his eyes beneath the lump constricting his throat. "You'll toss her back in time!"

Mikey heard Future Him laugh, felt the smile on his own face as a chuckle slipped by his real self. "Nah, Renet, I'd never let that happen, would I, K? Daddy'd never let that happen!"

"Daddy'd never let it happen, Mommy!" The girl squealed as Mikey turned her and blew raspberries on her belly.

"I don't ever want to leave." Mikey heard himself say, watching the perfect culmination of his life unfold before him.

"And that's our queue it's time to go," Ever whispered.

"What is?" Mikey asked, dazedly watching the blonde haired toddler in hysterics beneath his tickles. Her giggle was airy, sweet, and perfect. It melted into Future His and Renet's laughter blending in a harmony better than his favorite music.

"Your realizing that this is worth waiting for. That's our queue that my work, here in the future, is done. But we have one more stop before I take you back, future-son-in-law."

Ever pressed a button on her bracelet and the image of the room vanished sucking the warmth from Mikey's heart away with it. Was she telling the truth or just showing him what she knew he wanted to see? But as he looked at her, her features had softened, her eyes were bright and held depth, the small smile on her thin lips honest and he felt an odd connection to her. _Mother-in-law. As in… a Mother._ Something else he'd always wanted.

The darkness surrounding them was fractured with streaks of electric white and blue lightning and cracks of thunder that sounded static. Again he found himself falling, landing on his butt in a pile of long vibrant green grass.

"Ow." He grimaced, rubbing his jeans where he felt the recoil of the landing in his shell. "This is like the Christmas Carol with the ghosts that takes the duck to the past, the present, and the future. Isn't it?" He looked at Ever, while breathing in deep and catching the familiar scent of incense and wood burning smoke. His gaze drifted over the field, down to the valley below. _Oh no. It couldn't be._

"Well, yes and no. You're a turtle not a duck, that would be the Disney version of the story, and there's no need for us to visit the present." Ever sounded confused, and fidgeted with her bracelet. "I meant to take us to the future where my daughter doesn't become Time Master. To show you what it looks like when she doesn't fulfill her destiny. I don't," her lips pressed flat, brows drawn as she pinched a knob. "I don't understand why we're here." Mikey finally saw the resemblance between the two women as Ever's eyes flickered with determination and she began to ramble. "It's working properly. I set it. Hang on, I can fix this. I'm sure of it. Because you have to know, time is profoundly screwed if Renet doesn't fulfill her role. Screwed, I tell you. Which, obviously means you're screwed too. But this- it appears to be working properly. I just—"

 _Make her say it._ Mikey knew. He recognized the buildings. But he needed to hear her say it. "Where's here, Mrs. Tilley?"

Ever sighed, "Japan, 1999."


	12. Worthy

Leo stared at the message, his heartbeat a thunderous sound in his head. Blood pulsed to the tips of the fingers holding his phone in a loose grip.

Meet me at Calvary. ASAP. You know the plot. I'll bring the incense. –K.

It wasn't that he hadn't thought about her a million different times over the years. Because he had. He'd even found her. Had an old friend keeping an eye on her. Kurtzman to be exact. But he'd lose track of her almost a year ago.

Leonardo forced an inhale and exhale. This must be why. She's involved in this somehow.

"You alright, Leo?" Raph asked, taking a step towards him.

"Didn't you say April mentioned an unnamed female losing control of the situation?" Leo shook his head as he stuck the phone in his pocket, and turned for the door.

"Yeah. I thought maybe it was Ever or Renet," Raph's voice hinted at sympathy. Leo accepted it for what it was. He was too confused to know what to expect, what to think, or even how to feel.

Donnie followed them outside. Raph hailed a cab while Leo stared numbly into space. "The letter refers to a 'she' too. I would've never guessed it was Karai. Do you think she's working with Shredder?"

 _Do I think she's working with Shredder?_ The words scrolled through his head. Was she friend or foe? His last encounter with her left him heartbroken, but she was not his enemy. Not in a Shredder sense of the word. So what was she doing? How long had she been back? How much of this was her doing and why?

"Leo, get in the cab." Raph guided him into the back seat but before he could slide in next to him Leo motioned him back.

"You and Donnie get to Mikey. I'm going to meet Karai."

"You sure, Leo? It could be a trap." Raph kept one hand on the door while an annoyed cabbie scowled at him.

"Maybe, but I don't think so." Even as he spoke the words, Leo stomach tensed. The truth was, he wasn't sure.

As the cab pulled up to the cemetery entrance Leo debated with himself. Had she joined The Foot? _Was_ she working with Shredder? Why had she kept herself in exile? Why, when he'd done everything in his power to bring her home? Why wasn't he enough for her to come home to?

He climbed the gentle slope, every footstep resonating within, like he was marching toward a fire with little hope of finding any survivors. It was getting late. A day of cat and mouse, wasted. All they'd done was unfold, one strange occurrence after the other.

April and Renet were missing. Mikey was in danger. Mutants were at risk. Every passing moment was another that it all might implode on them, causing harm to any one of those he cared so deeply about. His hand trembled as if reaching for a phantom katana. Even Karai herself could be in danger, of him, if this was her doing. Regardless of how he felt or what duty he believed he had to her. He wouldn't stand for this.

As he neared the headstone, he'd visited more than he wanted for the day, his heart settled atop his stomach like two stones grinding against each other. "Please don't be responsible for this. Please," he begged.

And he waited.

He'd stood for the first hour, meditated through the second. By the third he'd considered abandoning the graveyard to help his brothers. They must've found Michelangelo. They'd be calling him if it had gone badly. They must be waiting to hear from him.

Gradually, the sun dipped behind the skyscrapers jutting above the trees, taking with it what little hope remained that Karai was coming.

Evening air was cutting, piercing his jacket between the insignificant holes in the threads. His muscles bunched, in an effort to warm themselves. The wind blew in gusts, rushing, then silent. Rushing— the delicate scent of jasmine right in his airways. The fragrance coursed through him, stealing his breath, thrusting a shock to his stomach that hurt like a punch to the gut.

She was too smart to ever wear perfume. Unless she wanted to be noticed. He closed his eyes, reaching out with his being to sense her. Her breaths were slight, hitting his ears like a tickle… they came from… behind him. He turned to face her.

Surprised at how close she'd gotten, he took a step back. Her stealth had always been commendable, still, she'd improved. He couldn't bring himself to look at her long. His mouth opened but no words came out. Not at first.

His heart jerked like she was tugging on it, he was once again a fish on the end of a line. Only he'd wanted her to catch him, and at one time, had all but thrown himself at her. And she'd rejected him.

Pride blossomed in his chest, because he had survived that heartbreak, and since then, he'd survived the death of his father. Nothing could break him now. He straightened, squared his shoulders.

The corners of her mouth tipped up ever such a tiny bit, and he wondered if she was still as impulsive as she'd been as a teen.

"Well, Leo, aren't ya gonna say hello?"

Was she blushing? It was hard to tell with the sun gone, only the glow of distant city lights casting a pale white light over the cemetery.

She didn't wait for him to answer. Reaching into the pocket of her long black coat, she pulled forth two sticks of incense and a lighter. She lit them then placed them in the holder on Splinter's grave. Her lower lip trembled, her breath hitched before she captured it, pressing her mouth into a flat line.

Her voice came out cracked, "Did, did he— suffer?"

He wanted to bite her head off. To scream at her, shake her. But he couldn't. Her gaze was fixed on the stone, smoke swirling up from the incense. The weight of his father's death as heavy as the day it happened. In some ways he wanted her to suffer. To let her believe that Sensei had. To hurt her, the way she'd hurt him with her leaving and refusal to come home.

His jaw shifted and the intent rose toward his lips. But as mighty a warrior as he knew she was, in that moment she was slight, tiny, and as lost as she always had been. His shoulders slumped, his gaze falling to the ground beneath her boots. "No."

It didn't matter if he had or hadn't. It wouldn't change what was. It was over. Hamato Yoshi's life was over, and as he always felt in her presence when thinking of his father, he had a duty to her. To protect her, to keep her safe, to save her from whatever tormented her. His legs felt week beneath him, as if they may cave in and leave him a mushy heap. No matter what he'd done, he'd failed them both at that task.

April's voice rang in his ears. _You can't force her to do anything, Leo._

April.

His gaze lifted, he commanded himself to step toward her. "Karai, what is all of this about?"

Her eyes remained on the headstone. Her voice soft, her mouth bowing into a frown that for some reason he felt in the center of his chest. "I—" she let out a long sigh. "I—"

His patience wavered in the midst of her sudden appearance, her penchant for appearing and disappearing at her whim, without so much as a goodbye. Let alone an explanation. His fists bunched. Why was he always falling for her act? Her ' _I'm sorry'_ , behaviors but not actions. She owed him answers for countless questions, not the least of which was—

"You pushed me away when I found you in Japan. Why?" His temper pressed at his insides, rising as his lips moved. "And I was dumb enough to go looking for you." The corners of his mouth bowed as he swallowed the bile rising in his throat. How he hated fighting with her, but knew that's what needed to happen. How he loathed the way she made him feel. "And while I was here, at home, watching our father die you— were off having the time of your life! Did you plan on running forever?" He thought he may be sick, felt his cool slipping, after years of holding back everything he had to say to her. "Did you ever care about me at all?"

He reached for her wrist intending to pull her close, to let her know how pissed he was. But she blocked him, her hands moving with studied efficiency.

"I wasn't on a fifteen year vacation, Leonardo. I was studying, the art, the villain, plotting, thwarting, and now my moments here!" She had gotten even better than he always knew she was, thrusting a hand in perfectly placed balance points, sending him stumbling backward.

Leo righted himself, moved to snatch her up. "You're moment to what, Karai? You missed out on your true father, it's too late he's gone!"

Blocked again with simple, carefully planned movements, he growled exasperated.

Her almond eyes flashed. "I had a relationship with him, Leo. I wrote to him, had secret meetings. No, we parted on good terms." A softness pierced her fury, brief and fleeting, the rage curling her hands into fists taking precedence. "It's HIM I'm set to destroy. Now's the time. My time. I know his plan, and how to stop it."

 _No._

 _Say it isn't so._

Leo's mask bunched, his mouth set in a thin line. Nostrils flaring, he glared at her, choosing his words with great care. Still they tumbled from his lips, sounding pathetic even to him and he hated himself for it. "You mean to tell me you've stayed away this entire time plotting revenge?"

Karai blanched at the tenderness he hadn't meant to let rise to his voice. Her eyes darted to the ground beneath her feet. "I followed him, throwing stones in his path, messing up his deals, tipping off cops to his exchanges. Slowly, ruining his empire."

A pain ripped through Leonardo's plastron like she'd reached in, snatched up the failing muscle, and ripped it from him. But he didn't look away from her, she deserved to see what she did to him. "So he was more important than us."

Her eyes shut and he wanted to force her to look at him. Doesn't she see? Will she never see?

"You don't understand now, any better than you did then," she whispered.

"What? That in a cruel twist you're the one who came out— _How did you put it when we were teenagers?_ Oh, that's right, _as short-sighted and narrow-minded, obsessed as The Shredder himself._ "

Her chest rose and fell in short puffs, water gathering on her dark lashes. "I kept him busy, Leo, away from you, Father, and your brothers. It was me that lured him away when Father passed, it was me that got his lackeys arrested, it was me—" her voice broke, "who wanted to make it up to you."

A solitary tear slipped down her cheek. He only caught it from the way her face was turned toward the moonlight. It glistened as it tipped from her lashes until it grew into a large droplet that escaped her furious swipe, gracing her porcelain skin with its crystal clarity.

And it brought a clear picture to him. One so vivid it hurt to remember, all that she'd endured over the years. All that none of them— "Karai, none of us blamed you for the mind control. We never did, we just wanted to bring you home where you belonged."

She sniffled, set her eyes lifting to the paper white moon that hung like a painting on a navy colored wall. "You sound just like him."

Any anger toward her dissipated with the long-broken creature standing before him. He'd never been able to stay mad at her, but he sure had damn near killed himself trying to protect her, to bring her home, to save her.

He stared at the woman in place of the girl he knew. Her hair, a long straight black curtain down her back, her makeup toned to highlight her naturally sharp features. A soft rose flushed her cheeks. Her shoulders were slight, her arms toned, and he caught glimpse of ink on the inside of her wrist.

Not knowing what possessed him he strode forward brushing the cuff of her coat away to get a better look, and she let him.

His family's crest stared back at him. He spoke with no more thought to his words than he gave to the muscle beating madly in his chest. "I sound like whom?"

"Father," she replied, her voice as slight as the frame of her, a tiny light in the pitch of night.

"Who were you trying to avenge, Karai? Your Mother, your Father, your family? Yourself? How when I was forever trying to show you I was right here, ready to help you, did you refuse to let me?"

She shook her head, a veil of black hair covering her face. She pushed it back, glanced at him, then back to the moon. "I had to figure out who I was without any influence from anyone, to figure out what I wanted, needed, and what I was going to do. In the end I knew, I had to make things right with Splinter, which I did. I had to defeat Shredder, which is why I'm here- all of this had to happen. So you'd be safe, and I'd be-" trembling fingers covered her cherry-colored lips.

His heart galloped, his fingertips tingling as he gently lowered her hand, pressing his palm to hers. How he'd missed her, like a piece of a puzzle had been lost and years later found, only the edges were a little rough and he wasn't entirely sure it would fit anymore. But he dared hope for the hundredth time since he'd met her that somehow the piece would lock into place and the picture would finally be complete. "So you could be what?"

Her chest shuddered, eyes so full of tears he felt the heat of them in his own, looked up at him. "So I'd be worthy of you."

His jaw shifted as he pulled her so tight he had to tell himself not to crush her, but she didn't complain, her thin fingers gripping the lapels of his jacket as she pressed herself against him... and wept. 


	13. Like Old Times

"He's not here Don! We should call Leo. Tell him they got him." Raph paced the pizzeria from front to back getting curious glances from pizza eating patrons.

Mondo licked an eyeball, earning him a glare from a frustrated Donatello.

"Mondo, how many times has Mikey asked you not to do that when you're working?" Donnie offered a reassuring smile to a family eating at a table nearby.

Mondo shrugged. "It's cool, D. Nervous habit. Mikey's okay though, right?"

Donatello rubbed his face as Raph bumped into a table and kicked a chair causing several customers near him to jolt. "Raph, can I talk to you for a minute, in the kitchen?" he pointed a finger toward the kitchen then looked at his gecko friend. "Mondo, I need you to keep running the place, business as usual, please?"

"Sure, D." Mondo's tongue peeked from between his teeth, Donnie scowled and Mondo sucked it back in his mouth.

"We don't have time for this!" Raph yelled.

"No, we don't." Michelangelo said from the kitchen door. All heads whipped in his direction and he waved to his customers offering them a warm but tight lipped smile that Donnie knew meant nothing good. Raph was through the door before Mikey could back out of it, Donnie followed him through while Mikey said something to Mondo before joining them, leaving the gecko to tend to their customers.

"You're here. Where the hell you been?" Raph eyed his little brother as if checking for injuries. Donnie admitted to himself he was doing the same. But Michelangelo appeared unscathed.

"What happened, Mikey?" Donnie asked him.

Michelangelo's frown provoked a sinking sensation in Donatello.

"Ever took me to the future and it— it was awesome. But then she tried to take me to an alternate future, but it got messed up and we ended up in the past. Anyway, I saw what I needed to see, and had her bring me back here so we can stop it."

"Stop what?" Raph blurted out.

"If we don't go back in time and stop Shredder he's going to kill Splinter and release the stuff Donnie made into the water so there will never be any mutants." Mikey rubbed the back of his head and took a shuddering breath. Donatello noticed his brothers hands were shaking.

"What's wrong, Mikey?"

"He, uh, he wants to save Tang Shen and raise Karai with her." Michelangelo swallowed.

"Where in time are they?" Donnie was already forming a plan. They'd call Leo, tell him on the way. They'd have to get Ever—

"It doesn't matter! How the hell are we gonna get there? We aren't time travelers! Unless, that Ever lady is still around." Raph looked around the kitchen then back to Mikey. "But I don't see her." He growled at Michelangelo, "Why don't I see the time traveler, Mikey?"

"She's gone. But we don't need her." Mikey shook his head.

"We don't?" Donnie and Raph said in unison.

"No. I know where there's an Apprentice Scepter." Mikey motioned for them to follow him. "Come on, I'll explain on the way."

"The way where?" Raph snarled.

"Home," Michelangelo replied.

000

"You've got to be kidding," Raph complained standing outside the old lair door, glaring at the flashing CLOSED sign.

Donnie was overrun with a strange blend of pride, accomplishment, and yet, privacy invaded. The three of them stared at the clear glass where a brick wall had been. The lettering on the automated door read:

 _Lair of the Ninja Turtles_

 _Relic Museum_

 _Hours of Operation…_

Relics. Donnie shook his head. They were older, but not dead. Hardly historical artifacts. Giving up the lair had been hard, but when they were exposed they were left with little choice. Kids were getting lost, hurt and sick trying to navigate the tunnels to find them. Then a few actually had. And they'd not been home when it happened. Raph thought Leo would have a heart attack. Then Splinter did.

Donnie shook the memory off as Raph complained. "Well, Genius, we bustin' right in?"

"No. And did you call Leo like I asked?" Donnie eyed the reformed sewer tunnel, now a tiled, lit, entrance to the lair.

"No phone remember?" Raph held his hands out and shifted his weight.

Donatello ignored him seeing the control panel on the left side of the wall just feet away from the street entry. He flung open the door and felt Michelangelo hovering over him in an instant. Donnie's tongue edged out the corner of his mouth as he began rewiring select fuses.

Mikey's fingers crept into view, flipping switches as Donnie swatted him away.

"Stop it."

"What's this one do?" Mikey reached for another.

"Stop it." Donnie waved him off.

"What's this one do?"

"Stop it!" Donnie repeated.

"But I can help. See if I flip this one and you move that wire to that wire it should open the door." Mikey poked his fingers in amid the fray of wires Donatello was moving about.

Donatello's fingers stopped. "That's exactly what I'm doing. How did you know that? And if you knew that, why are you tormenting me with the random button pushing?!"

"Because it's fun." Mikey grinned. "And… uh…" he withdrew his hand, tucking it behind his back as he walked back toward the door without answering the rest of the question.

"Mikey?" Raph pressed as Donnie finished, the sliding door opened, and he closed the panel.

"Michelangelo?" Donnie raised an eye ridge.

"Because, I'm the one that helped Renet hide the scepter here." He raised his palms face up and shrugged, offering a bashful grin.

"What? Why would you hide it here where hundreds of people come every day? People who could see it, realize what it is and steal it?" Raph waved a fist at Mikey. "Little Brother, have you lost your mind?"

Michelangelo held up his hands. "No, no, look, I come here sometimes. Made friends with the night guard. She's real smart like you, D. She told me what to do when I want to come alone. Since it was our home, and I'm me, she knew she could trust me. Renet wrote me a while back saying she had something priceless she needed to hide. I told her I knew just the place." Mikey grinned, "You know hiding things in plain sight, that's the best way to go, right?"

Raph rolled his eyes and huffed, but withdrew his fist.

"Well, Mikey—" Donnie began as they stepped into what used to be their living room, looking around at pit where the pillows, cushions and television were. Where he and April spent hours working on her homework together. Where his brothers and he learned the basics of the arts, then mastered them. Where they celebrated their victories, licked the wounds of their losses, where they became who they were. A family. A place that some part of him still recognized as home.

"Uh, D? You okay, Dude?" Michelangelo's hand on his shoulder broke Donnie from his reverie.

"Yeah, yeah Mikey. I'm okay." Donatello looked around, the outline of their bedroom doorframes blurring into focus. The doors had been removed for museum tours. He lowered his gaze to look at Mikey and asked, "Hey where'd Raph go?"

"I can't—gah—believe, uh— they—grrrr!" A grunting, huffing sound came from the dojo and Donnie and Mikey made their way to the entrance.

There Raphael stood with one foot on the wall, tugging, pulling, and snarling as he tried to pry a set of his sai from the hold.

"They bolted the suckers to the wall! I mean it's my old training pair, not my favorite babies but still! They're bolted on there!" Raph tugged one more time and a bolt creaked, before giving way, sending him flying backward on his butt. He held the three pronged weapon up in victory, kissed the blades and grinned. "Mikey, get that scepter and let's kick Shredder's—"

"Language, Raphael!" Mikey protested.

Raph scowled at him. "Man, I'm thirty-eight, I'll curse if I want ta."

"Scepter, Mikey." Donnie scanned the dojo, still not seeing the device.

"Righty-o." Mikey chirped, bouncing from the dojo on the balls of his feet. Curiosity crept into Donatello's mind. He had to know where the Time Masters Apprentice had hidden the sacred object. He and Raph followed Michelangelo upstairs to his old room where there, plain as day the scepter was standing on the floor with a lampshade over the top of it.

"She hid the scepter under a lamp shade?" Raph said, scratching his head.

"Well, yeah, I mean it looks like a fancy lamp, right?" Mikey grabbed the plain white shade and tugged it off, casting it aside before lifting the scepter and handing it to Donnie. "Remember how to use it, D?"

Donatello swallowed, but the butterflies in his stomach quickly subsided, the device feeling as familiar to him as picking up his weapon. "Sure I do." He answered. Besides I have to. I've got to find April. No matter what's happened between us, I have to know she's safe.

"Mikey, get Leo on the phone. Tell him we're coming to him and," Donnie glanced at Raphael, "and we're bringing him his gear."

Raph's mouth curled into a grin. "Like old times."

"Exactly like old times."


	14. Change

Karai sighed, brushing a lock of hair away from her tear-stained cheek. "So, he saw Donatello's research in the paper. One of the articles April wrote. You guys were too successful, he couldn't stand it. He heard about Renet's upcoming ascension to Time Master. You do the math. I thought, if I had Renet, the scepter, and the compound, hidden then he would never be able to pull it off. You'd be safe. But Zeck was slinking around in that invisible suit… he followed April and she led them right to us."

A cloud of air wafted before her and she pulled her jacket closer, shivering against the night. Her cheeks were flushed a beautiful shade of pink, Leo hated himself for noticing. But it had been so good to hold her, to breathe her in and have her close to him after so long. Still, something bothered him. "Karai, how did you have access to this kind of information?" His stomach turned, his voice falling to a whisper, "Tell me… you weren't, working for him."

"I wasn't. How can you even suggest such a thing?" The hurt in her voice assured him and while he regretted it, he knew he was able to believe her.

"Then how?" Leo, standing closer to her, wanted to comfort her again. Wished this wasn't what reunited them. How he'd wanted her to have come home to him on her own.

But she hadn't.

He wondered if this hadn't happened if she ever would have.

"Stop it, Leo," her voice bit into him.

His gaze had drifted to the headstone behind her, not wanting to let himself feel what he knew would only lead to more heartbreak. He looked at her now, and the pain settled over him, consuming him like a whale eating a guppy.

Her dark eyes glistened in the moonlight. "Stop."

She'd left. She'd hurt him. She was never coming home. Never intended to. She was going to leave him missing, aching, pining for her until the day he died. His hands clenched. After all he'd done for her, how many times he'd risked his throat for her. "Don't tell me to stop, Karai. Tell me how you got this information?" He glared at her, felt the air rushing in and out of his nostrils.

Her jaw clenched. "No," she refused.

He grabbed her arms, pulled her up to him. "Tell me."

She swallowed, the artery thrumming in her throat revealing the fear she tried to hide beneath the angry scowl on her face. His heart sank, his anger a weight pulling it down. He didn't want her fear. He didn't want her pain. He didn't know what he wanted from her. He lowered her to her feet, released her and turned his back on her. As he took his first steps away she called to him.

"Where are you going? I have to stop Shredder!"

He stopped. "You, have to stop Shredder, Karai. I don't. So, go, stop him."

"I can't. I can't. I—" her voice broke, distress pulling threads of emotion forth, the sounds stripping away at his insides and he couldn't take another step. But as she fought to say what she needed to, he didn't need to go after all. The moment he'd waited so long for, it had finally come. "I can't. Do it. Alone. I need your help."

He wheeled on her, his face so close to hers their breath mingled. "There was that so hard? What that so terrible? Was that the hardest, worst thing in the world? Was it?" He glared at her, breathing hard and she stared up at him, eyes wide, defenseless, and he noticed the circles under her eyes, the hollows of her cheeks. Still he couldn't stop what he'd held in for so long and found himself snatching her up again, backing her into the trunk of the closest oak. "WELL, WAS IT, KARAI? WAS IT THE HARDEST MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE TO ASK FOR MY HELP?"

A trembling hand rose between them holding a dagger to his throat, the shaking of it sending moonlight flashing off the short blade. "No, Leonardo, falling in love with you and finding the strength to walk away to redeem myself, to make myself worthy of you, that was the hardest thing I've ever done. And having to ask for your help so I can finish it, it steals that from me. And I know I'll never achieve it. Have no other way to earn it. And…" her voice trailed off.

Leo's gaze travelled from her tear-filled eyes, to the shaking hand holding the blade to his neck and he swatted it away, pressed his face so close he could taste the mint of toothpaste on her breath. "And. What?"

To his shock, her lip trembled. She bit into it, trying to stop it. "Now that I'm here, with you, now that I can feel you this close, I don't think I can do it again."

His jaw shifted, his heart lashing his chest in long painful beats. "Do what?"

Long slender fingers stroked his cheek, the pain beneath his plastron grew with the mingling of their breaths, the vulnerability in her eyes, and he wanted his anger back. He slapped the tree trunk over her head. "DO WHAT?"

She blinked, moved her face close and pressed her lips lightly against his. "Leave you, Leonardo. I can't do it again. So this, we've got to stop it, together. Because I don't want to be without you another day."

Before he could respond her lips were flush with his, warm, sweet, soft… exactly how he remembered. Breathless, he was caught up in the realness of her. After countless nights she was there, in his arms, fragile, yet stronger than anyone else he'd ever known. Well, almost anyone. Except for the father he was sure was watching over them… no, in some ways she was every bit the warrior he had been. Leo hoped he was too. For their small family, at last reunited, they were all that were left of the Hamato Clan. And it was her rightful place. With them.

He broke their kiss, tipped his brow to hers, breathing her in. "You're wrong, Karai. You don't have to redeem yourself. You never did. There was nothing to forgive. You weren't to blame for what Shredder did to you or made you do. What matters is that you're home. Where you belong. Where you are needed. Where you are loved. With me." Leo felt the knot forming in the back of his throat. "I need you."

She pressed her lips to his again, when the ringing of his phone brought with it the reminder of all that needed to be done. He lowered her to her feet, kissed the top of her head and reached in his pocket.

"Leo?" Mikey's voice came through the line, sounding jittery.

"Mikey? You're okay?"

Michelangelo let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah. Sort of. I mean. Not really. But yes. I mean. Uh, we're on our way. Be there in five. D, said to fill you in."

"Let me guess, Shredder has the compound, the scepter, April, and Renet?"

Karai stood on tiptoe trying to hear, so Leo put Michelangelo on speaker.

"Well, yeah, only, they're in Japan… circa 1999."

Leo and Karai's eyes met. "What?" she mouthed, confused.

Leo shook his head and for the first time thought he shouldn't let her help them with this particular mission. Her eyes widened her hand reaching for his arm, he could barely feel the pressure of her delicate fingers.

"Uh, Leo?"

"Yeah, sorry, Mikey."

"Uh, yeah, but we've got the apprentice scepter. And D says we're doing this like the old days," he chuckled, "Raph's got your old gear."

Leo's heart soared. He loved his newest katana, but if it was a fight against Shredder it was fitting to use the old. Little did his brothers know about his late night antics. He went full ninja almost every night. He was more than ready. As he ended the call he set his eyes on Karai, a little less certain.

Her dark eyes searched him. "What is it?"

Leo pressed his lips together, took a long breath and readied himself. "Karai, he took them back in time… to Japan… In 1999."

Her head jerked back. "I was born in 1999."

Leo nodded, and waited.

Her already pale face seemed to drain. "Leo, my mother was alive in 1999."

"Yes."

She swayed and he put out an arm catching her, holding her up. He pulled her to him, as her fingers gripped the lapel of his coat, her cheek mashed against his shoulder. "She'll be alive there, Leo. I will see her alive. I can, I could meet her." Her head snapped up. "I could save her. Leo, we can save her!"

He shook his head. "No, Karai, we can't. We can't interfere with what happens there. All we can do is stop Shredder and get out. If we interfere it changes the future, our future. And we won't have one to come back to." And he knew. He had to tell her. "Karai, I've already been where he's taken them."

Her features twisted, her hand releasing his jacket as she stepped back from his embrace. "What?"

"I've already been there," he frowned, "held you in my arms actually."

Her mouth fell open. She stared at him. "You. Were. There. And—" she took another step back, "you, didn't save my mother? Leo, how could you?"

He planted his feet, determined to give her a second. "Karai, if we change the past this future doesn't exist. In a sense, this us, we don't exist. There was a picture of my brothers and I with April and Casey, it was changing, one by one we were disappearing as we made mistakes, one of which was speaking to your mother. But we fixed it the best we could and came home." He swallowed, "Karai, I had to leave you there. I couldn't. If I changed anything—"

"You— left me. What do you mean, you left me? What does that mean?" She backed up, bumped into a headstone, almost fell and he steadied her. She shoved his hand off. "What does that mean, Leo?"

He sighed. "Karai, I'm going to give you until my brothers get here to sort this out. I need you to grasp that we can't change the past. If you can't come to terms with that, then I have no choice but to leave you here while the rest of us go save April, Renet, and well… ourselves."

Her nostrils flared, small hands balled into fists. "Like hell you're leaving me behind Hamato Leonardo, this is my fight, my time to make Shredder pay for all he's done."

Leo shook his head, remained calm. "Then I suggest you get it together. Brace yourself, Karai. Some things, we can't change and if I take you and you force me. I will have no choice but to stop you."


	15. Time

Raphael wasn't a fan of inter-dimensional travel, space travel, or time travel… or anything else that means his feet leave earth for any extended period of time. Come to think of it, he wasn't big on planes or boats either. Not that, that mattered when it came to doin' what had to be done. Like right then.

Donnie had the time wand, and the lot of them gathered around in the cemetery while he tried to remember how it worked. If he didn't get it just right, Raph might find himself goin' toe to toe with a gladiator. Not that he'd mind that. He was pretty sure he could take him. That is if there was one. Hell, he could probably take whatever was waiting for him no matter where they put him.

He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck as Donnie pointed the scepter toward the sky and with the working of some buttons a window appeared. Raph's insides were already churning. He didn't know about the rest of the guys but this always felt kinda like a free fall, and he was getting to old for surprise landings.

"Ya better get the date right Don." Raph said, marching toward the window.

Karai pushed past him then Leo bolted forward grabbing her by the arm. She wheeled around landing a palm to his shoulder. "Let me go, Leo. That's my mother on the other side of this door and nothing will stop me from seeing her."

"I got a bad feeling about this," Raph grumbled following Leo through the white square resembling a large piece of paper hanging in the sky… no hooks, no nails, no tape, no glue… just hanging there. And it never failed to creep Raph out.

But that's not why his insides were tingling. It was where they were going. After what happened the last time they were in 1999, he'd had more than enough. Being there for Tang Shen's death was not on his list of moments he wanted to live over.

Raph's gaze traveled to the back of Karai's head. Surely Leo had told her what happened there. Why was he letting her come along on this mission? There's no way they could trust her.

Michelangelo seemed to work his way around Raph, a little past Leo, even closer to Karai. Seemed he thought so too.

Donnie leapt through the portal and it seemed to zipper shut behind him. No lightning this flight, jump, whatever. So hopefully that meant—

Raph was sure his stomach was going to come out his throat the wind was rushing by so fast. The tails of his bandana were flipping around in his eyes, his breath lost in the downward spiral. Then leaves, still attached to their branches seemed to rush up beneath his shell, snapping and breaking, giving way to his absurd scramble for something to hold onto.

"Unh! Ow! Unh! Ompf!" He grunted, and groaned as each limb shattered, until he landed hard on his rump. "Oh, I am too old for this sh—"

"Language, Raph!" Mikey chirped, having landed on his feet like he was getting the hang of it.

Raph rolled his eyes, got to his feet and grabbed his little brother, pulling him behind the nearest tree trunk. And there was the seventeen year-old version of himself and his brothers, fighting with the last of their sensei's clan. He glanced around and saw Donnie motioning them towards him and the path to sensei's home.

Karai's head popped out from behind another trunk, wide-eyed and gaping as she watched Oroku Saki rush the younger version of their family right before teenage Mikey saved them with a smoke bomb.

"We've got to get away from ourselves," Raph whispered to Mikey.

 _Ugh. Add that to the long list of things I never thought I'd say._

Michelangelo said nothing, only nodded in agreement. His little brother's shell fell in line behind Leo and Karai, after Leo motioned for Donnie to lead. Clearly, Leo didn't trust Karai there and Raph wondered why he brought her at all. But that was his problem, so long as she didn't go trying to screw with the past. Then it was everyone's problem.

Raph came alongside Mikey, surprised at how quiet he was being… and how serious. "What's wrong, Little Brother?"

"A lots at stake here, is all. I just hope it works out different this time." Michelangelo rubbed the back of his mask, his blue eyes searching the ground beneath his feet.

Raph's head turned at the same time his hands rose to stop Mikey. "Spill it."

Mikey straightened. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean. You're acting guilty. What do you mean, this time?"

Mikey frowned, but didn't get a chance to answer as Donnie pointed them to the opposite side of the forest from where they'd stayed as teenagers. "We can't risk running into ourselves, and we've got to find Shredder, April, and Renet."

"I know where they are," Michelangelo's voice came out low, almost a mumble.

Leo's feet stopped, Karai kept trying to pry his hand off her arm but he held firm and she couldn't budge him. "Come again?"

Mikey groaned.

"Mikey, what is going on?" Donnie pressed.

"Renet is by the water tower with Shredder. It's where he plans to release the compound. Only, April will have just escaped with it. Hun is after her. She's headed this way." Michelangelo kept his gaze to the ground, rubbing his toe in the grass as he explained. "But I don't know if she's going to make it here. He might—"

"Don't finish that sentence," Donnie interrupted then swallowed hard, his eyes shifting from Mikey to Leo then toward the water tower.

Raph was dumfounded. That sounded like a damned mess. And—

"And you know all this, how?" Leo dropped Karai's arm, for just a second, and it was as if she'd been waiting for it.

"No! Leo—" Mikey yelled, lunging for Karai, knocking Raph out of the way.

Donnie seemed to see it coming and swiped his bo towards her feet, but she dodged him easily, running off toward the dojo.

"We've got to stop her!" Mikey exclaimed.

Leo wheeled on him. "And we will, as soon as you explain how you know everything you just said!"

"Ah! Leo, you don't understand, this is exactly how things happened last time. We have to do something different to change it!"

"Different?" Raph asked, a weight settling in his chest as he stepped up to his little brother. "You sound like you've been here before, and I'm not talkin' teen you."

Michelangelo sighed. "I was here… earlier today. Ever meant to take me to an alternate future but time interfered, and we ended up here. I managed to free April, and Earlier Me is freeing Renet right now, getting the Master Scepter back in her hands. But," he shook his head, "I couldn't be everywhere at once. So, you guys are gonna have to go on without me. I've got to do something different this time. You gotta trust me."

Leo frowned, his gaze shifting from Michelangelo, to the direction Karai took off. After a second or two he nodded. "Okay, so Donnie and Raph, you guys head for the water tower, look for April. Donnie do whatever you've got to do with that compound," Leo looked at Donatello, and even though Donnie had been working on that drug or whatever it was for years he didn't hesitate. They all knew what Leo was trying to tell him. They couldn't have that stuff floating around anywhere near the past.

Leo turned to Mikey, "What is earlier you doing right now?"

"Saving Renet," Mikey answered.

"Do you succeed?" Leo's voice dropped, but he looked their youngest brother in the eye.

Mikey nodded. "Yeah, but—"

Leo shook his head. "It's alright, Mikey. I know. And I'm gonna stop her." He looked at each of us. "We have to avoid the people here, and our past selves. They can't see us. We're master ninja now guys. No one should be able to tell we were ever here. We meet back here," Leo closed his eyes, sighed. "After the fire. After the teen us, save Splinter. Then we send Shredder back to the future where he belongs, and we have him arrested."

Mikey's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

But Raph had something to say. He didn't want to hang around for the death of Tang Shen take two. "Why after the fire, Leo?"

"Because that's how long Karai needs."


	16. Mikey3

In her entire life Karai never thought she'd find herself with such opportunity. She felt her mother's life force the second they hit the ground, like an invisible beacon summoning her and Karai would not deny herself of a second just to set eyes on a living, breathing Tang Shen. Not for anyone or anything, not for any reason. Nothing would come between her and her mother.

The earth beneath Karai's sneakers was putty depressing with each step and she pressed her toes deeper thrusting herself forward. Even as she neared the window overlooking the kitchen, catching glimpses of teenage turtles and heard her mother's voice for the first time, Karai knew she had to save her. That she _would_ save her, them, their family, no matter what the cost.

Karai's mouth hung open, her heart beating so hard she could feel the blood pulsing to her fingertips. There she was. Her mother. Alive, and speaking to the turtles. What were they saying to her? To choose Hamato Yoshi? Why would she not? Couldn't she see what Saki was capable of?

Karai pressed her forehead against the window pane, the glass steaming with her breath. She wiped the condensation away with trembling fingers and saw a young Leonardo… holding her. An infant. Miwa. Her breath caught in her throat as Leo smiled while the baby tugged on the tails of his mask. _He's been comforting me since I was born. I've dreamt of that blue all my life and never understood why until now._ A great lump built in her throat, unbidden tears sprung to her eyes. _How do I trade one for the other?_

She turned her back to the wall and sank to the ground. _I can't have them both._ _I'll never have them both. But I've known Leo. I never had the chance to know my Mother. This is my only chance. Surely he will understand that. He would ask me not to change the past because he and his brothers would never exist but if it weren't for them he would sacrifice himself so that I could know my mother. He would._

Tears slipped down her cheeks as she tried to convince herself, all the while listening to the sweet sound of her mother's voice. This was her opportunity to have her mother and father together, to unite her family in the future and for her to have the life she'd always dreamed of.

As she sat there debating with herself and plotting her next course of action, the teen turtles were leaving Tang Shen's home.

"I have to do this. No matter the price," she whispered, getting to her feet. She glanced toward the tree line, sensing Leonardo. He would try to stop her. But not before she met her mother. Karai crept to the front porch and pushed back the door almost walking into Tang Shen.

"Oh!" Tang Shen exclaimed, stepping back, and cradling baby Miwa closer.

Karai stared at the woman, her mother. _What do I do now? Do I tell her who I am? Or where I'm from? Do I tell her what's going to happen? Do I care if I destroy the present where I come from, one without either her or my father?_

Karai swallowed, took a breath and said, "Tang Shen, we need to talk."

000

April gasped for breath, her side cramping horribly as she ran through the woods beside the river. She knew she should get farther away from the water. She'd be easy to track, and if caught it would be simple for Hun to toss the compound into it and destroy everything she loved.

She was unarmed, bruised, battered and seeing black spots she was so far beyond her running ability. She wasn't sure why or how Michelangelo was there to free her, but she was glad he had been. Though she hated leaving him behind with Renet. Still it was important to keep the compound from Shredder. But where was she going? Did she seek out the teen turtles at risk of messing with the future?

A shuriken whizzed by her head, just missing her cheek.

"Pretty Reporter," Hun said. "Give yourself to me."

Bile rose in April's throat as she ground to a halt. Her entire back tensed, sensing him right behind her. "Will you fight me or come along quietly?"

April dropped a bruised chin, glancing at him in her periphery. Her lip curled as she answered him. "Hun, I will fight you every single time."

Before she had any chance to catch her breath he'd grabbed her hair, jerked back her head and flung her into a tree. Bark scraped her face and she bounced off, landing in a panting heap on the ground.

Shredder had taken her tessen, babbling about returning it to Tang Shen while he was there. She was weaponless.

 _A ninja is never defenseless._ Her Sensei's voice reminded her. How she loved and hated it when he spoke to her inner-self from beyond the grave. So bittersweet, such torture.

Hun saw fit to take his time with her, approaching her at his leisure. "I will take the compound to my Master, in exchange I get to take you home with me. Do not make me keep punishing you." He snorted. "It's not as if you can defeat me."

April scanning the ground around her spied a tree branch, long and straight. Her split lip rose into a smirk. Hun stepped closer at the same time her fingers wrapped around the wood.

"Get away from her, Hun!" Donatello's voice echoed among the trees.

April's heart soared. Donnie! They guys were there!

Hun stopped, looking toward Donatello. April seized the opportunity lifting the stick and thrusting the butt end of it into Hun's stomach pushing him back. She pulled her makeshift weapon in just a bit then swung it in a wide arc around and across the back of his legs, then moved forward aiming the end of it at Hun's throat. She didn't take her eyes off her enemy and Hun glared at her as Donnie appeared by her side, Raph beside him.

"Looks like you've got this under control, April." Raph observed.

"Are you okay?" Donnie asked her, reaching a three fingered hand for her bruised face.

She did her best to ignore the way her heart melted beneath his touch, and still watching Hun she replied, "I'm fine. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Donnie answered. "Do you have the compound?"

April couldn't deny that she felt like she could conquer anything with him there, but at the same time she wanted to end this, with Renet and Karai, and on their own. She couldn't explain why, if not simply to show Donatello how much she loved him and what she was capable of. He needed to know he could trust her and should've never doubted her.

"April?" Raph's voice pierced her thoughts, at the same time Donatello reached for her stick holding hand and inched it back just a bit.

April realized she'd been closing Hun's airway with the pressure she'd applied.

"Give me the compound, April," Donnie said as he took the stick from her, keeping Hun pinned.

With her hands free April looked in Donnie's cinnamon-brown eyes, opening her mouth to answer him. But she never had a chance to speak for Renet's scream pierced the forest.

"Run! Run! RUN!" she shrieked, sprinting right passed them and flinging out a hand to grab April's.

April saw Donnie jab the blunt end of the stick hard against Hun's temple, knocking him out before spinning around and running after them.

Raph looked back to where Renet had come from, reached for his sai and asked, "What're we runnin' from?"

"Ninja!" Renet answered as they dropped from the trees, encircling them.

April, Donnie, and Renet formed a back-to-back triangle while Raph, just off to the side, assumed a fighting stance.

Shredder marched forward, the ninja parting to allow him through. April eyed the crest on their masks. Foot.

"Seize the O'Neil woman. Dispatch of the mutants, and retrieve my compound and Time Master."

April's eyes fell on the scepter in Shredder's grasp, and her heart sank.

"April, give me the compound," Donnie whispered.

April inched her fingers into her pant pocket, and found it empty. "No," she gasped as the ninja crept closer.

"What do you mean no?" Donnie hissed.

April's eyes swept the ground surrounding them, stopping when they found what she was searching for. "No, I mean I don't have it. It fell out of my pocket when Hun slammed me into that tree."

"Shit," Donnie cursed and the ninja attacked.

April, feeling guilty for having dropped the vial was determined to fight her way to retrieving it. Beside her Renet charged her energy knuckles and swung at the first ninja upon her.

As fists and feet flew toward her face, April's mind cleared and her training took over. The battle she was forced into slowed to an impossible stop-motion. Her muscles remembered everything they were to do, every step was part of an intricate dance, the shift of her weight, the arc of her strike… it was all part of her, the way Donatello was part of her, the way being a fraction mutant was in her blood. She was still a kunoichi and over the years she'd become a damn good one. Faces met her fists, bodies her foot, and her reactions, counter-strikes, combinations, all of it were instinctual.

But they still weren't enough.

As she closed in on her target, the tiny vial nestled against the tree trunk, a razor-gloved hand snatched it up.

"Ha-ha-ha," Shredder held the vial up then in his other hand the scepter. "Ha! At last! Victory is mine! Seize them! Come let them watch their own demise!"

There were too many ninja. Too many. April panted with exhaustion, her heart stricken with fear and a sick sense of morbidity. They were guided to the water where Shredder held the vial over the river below.

000

Michelangelo hid behind a tree, just outside the battle with his heart thumping. He'd better get there soon. In the next few seconds Shredder would be tossing that vial into the river and he would cease to exist!

He was torn between being there, at this fight, and the urge to go back to Leo and help him with Karai. But he couldn't be in two places at once. He almost laughed at the irony of the situation, because he was in fact, in three places at that very moment.

The teen him was about to witness Tang Shen's death, and the present day him was watching this fight ready to save the day… if he'd just had what he was waiting for… Why hadn't he packed more Shuriken? And- oh good- there he was!

Michelangelo sensed who he'd been waiting for, found it odd that he was so close, and knew better than to look. He reached back and opened his hand, felt the cool metal object fall into his palm and closed his fingers around it.

"This wasn't easy to get," his visitor said in an all too familiar voice.

"I know," Mikey replied.

"Good luck," the voice encouraged him.

Michelangelo couldn't help himself and grinned, but never looked behind him. "Thanks, you too."

"Booyakasha, Mikey," the voice said.

"Booyakasha, Michelangelo," he replied.


	17. Home

Karai had said all she could. She only hoped she'd done enough. As she left Tang Shen's home, and headed for the dojo eager to speak to her father, to see him in his human form, she already wanted to return to her mother. The scent of cherry blossoms clung to Karai's clothes from where Tang Shen had embraced her. She replayed their conversation over and over again in her mind, hoping she'd done the right thing. That she'd done enough.

As she neared the dojo she heard fighting. Then a green three-fingered hand appeared over her mouth. Karai scolded herself for letting down her guard and forgetting about Leonardo, for even a second. How could she? But it was obvious, even to her. She was so full of her mother, her scent, her mannerisms, her voice, the fantasy of her that for the moment was so real, she'd forgotten everything else.

She struggled against Leo but he was determined and had gained the upper hand in her distracted state. He tugged her behind the dojo and pinned her against the wall of it.

"What are you doing, Karai? What did you say to Tang Shen? Where do you think you're going?" Leo's blue eyes jerked her back to reality. What was she doing? Living out the fantasy of every little girl who'd ever lost her mother? Yes. And no one and nothing was going to stop her. Because she'd had the opportunity to meet her and she'd taken it and wasn't a damn bit sorry for it. And she'd do it again, given the chance. Not only that but she'd do what she had planned to.

The scent of sandalwood bled into the cherry blossom and her gut swirled. For there was Leonardo, and there was her mother, and her choice. She reached up a hand to stroke his cheek. "I'm sorry, Leo. But I have to do this. I thought you of all people would understand. This is an opportunity to right the wrongs of the past, to unite my family and for the three of us to be together."

Leo shook his head, frowning. "Karai, however tragic it has been it's played out as it should. The way fate intended. It placed me in your path a long time ago, and if it were only me, I would give up my existence if it would reunite your family. Our family. But it isn't. It's my brothers, it's April, Renet, and even Casey. It's all the times we've saved the world, it's every victim, all of it. You will undo all of it. Please," his hand covered hers and his eyes closed as he breathed in deep. "Please, make the right choice, Karai."

Her heart clenched. She'd already made her decision. She closed her eyes, pressed her mouth to his, and kissed him deeply, then with stealthy movements slid her hands over his pressure points and lowered an unconscious Leonardo to the ground.

"I love you, Leo. But I have to know what my life could've been like. The way it should've been."

She unsheathed one of his katana, dragged his slumbering body into the trees, and returned to the dojo in time to see her mother hide infant Miwa then run into the burning building. Karai ran in after her, sword in hand.

"Tang Shen!" Karai screamed taking in the sight playing out before her. There was Oroku Saki fighting Hamato Yoshi. Her father. Her human, biological father, fighting the wicked, selfish man who'd stolen her from him and Saki was poised to deliver a kill strike.

Tang Shen moved to leap forward between them, but Karai flung Leonardo's sword into Shredder's back stopping him short. Yoshi grabbed Tang Shen, as Saki became rigid, his mouth parted in shock. Karai stood heaving, as a beam fell over Saki's body, dropping flames on his head, burning his face. Yoshi and Shen ran past her, Shen grabbing Karai's arm, yanking her along. But as they reached the door the entire room flashed a piercing white.

000

"Wake up, Miwa!" her mother called.

Miwa sat upright, drenched in sweat, chest heaving. The same nightmare, night after night, and it never altered, never changed. It always began the same, her looking into gorgeous blue eyes on an inhuman face and it always ended in flames before white light. She ran a hand through her long black locks, and put her feet on the floor.

Years.

She'd been having the same nightmare, since she could remember. Her parents had even consulted with physicians, and Miwa cringed, psychiatrists. Nothing helped.

"You'll be late for school!" her mother called again.

Miwa sniffed under her arms and cringed. "Ought to take a shower, wash all this sweat off me," she mumbled then shrugged and rooted through the pile of clothes on her floor to find a somewhat clean pair of blue jeans. She pulled them on and an electric blue t-shirt. "Too late now."

Car horns blared from the street far below and she regretted leaving her window open even a crack last night, for the cold gust of autumn air that rushed in through it. Sometimes the noises of the city helped her off to sleep, sometimes the fresh air distracted her with images of fast food, street lights, and the architecture that only New York could offer. She pushed the pane shut then shuffled over to look at herself in the mirror above her dresser, pausing to pick up the jar of turtle food from her nightstand and twist off the cap.

There perched on her dresser, beneath her mirror, was the fifty-five gallon tank that took up the length of it. The baby turtles her father had bought when she was still an infant, now fifteen, had outgrown both a twenty and forty gallon aquarium.

She reached in, stroking the top of Leonardo's head. He was her favorite, always had been. He was always so calm, and had such a great disposition. Raphael on occasion would nip at her fingers. Michelangelo would paw at her frantically as if begging to be let out, eager to play. And Donatello was quite the escape artist. She frowned as she glanced around the tank and couldn't find him. She lifted up the log he liked to burrow under, then several other ornaments in the tank.

"Miwa," her father's gentle voice filled the doorway.

She withdrew her hand from the tank and turned to face him. "Yes, father?"

He held the turtle, as it clawed at empty air, out to her. "Donatello has escaped again."

"I'm sorry, father. He's like a genius turtle. I swear I've even put school books on the screen covering their tank. I don't know how he does it." Miwa took the turtle from her father and placed him back in the aquarium.

Hamato Yoshi chuckled. "He is very clever."

Miwa gazed lovingly at her pets. "They all are."

"They do have their own personalities," her mother said, appearing behind her father, who reached back pulling her into a warm embrace.

Most kids would gag at sight of their parents open display of affection. But Miwa never did. Not when she'd saved her parents night after night from deaths grasp. Smiling as they gazed lovingly into one another's eyes, she squeezed by them. But as she made her way down the hall toward the front door she couldn't help the other feeling, the one that mingled with the relief of seeing her parents in love, the ache that never left her. Of loss.

Through every slumbering moment Miwa was in a fight for her parent's lives, alongside her turtle pets. At least that's what she'd pegged them as. Since she had turtles and the ones in her dreams had the same names as her pets, she thought it must be them. But the turtles in her dreams, her nightmares, they were human-like. And she was in love with one of them.

In some way she looked forward to her fitful, restless nights, so that she could breathe in the scent of sandalwood mixed with another smell unique to her blue masked love, that of steel. She was eager to close her eyes and slip into the familiarity of the night, where he waited and begged her to make a different choice. To choose him.

In fact from the time she left her home each day until she returned, there was an ache in the pit of her stomach so familiar it had become part of her. Something was missing.

"Miwa! Wait up! We can walk together." April called down the hall from her apartment.

Miwa should've gone to get her friend as she normally would, but she really just wanted to be alone with her thoughts, with the hurt that snaked its fingers around her heart. _What I really want it to kiss him again, to feel his arms around me. For him to be real._

"Are you working at your father's dojo tonight?" April asked.

Miwa shrugged. "I'm not scheduled. But I was going to work out after school." Actually I was thinking about ditching and going there now… Miwa eyed April. Would her goody-two-shoes friend do such a thing as- "You know what, April? I'm not going to school today."

April stopped before the elevator and pushed the button. "You're not?" April looked her over. "Are you sick?" Then the redheads eyes widened and she grimaced. "Oh, tell me you're not going to meet Casey Jones?"

Miwa knew her friend had a crush on the boy and couldn't help the grin and streak of unfounded rebellion that coursed through her. "Maybe. Wanna come?"

April glared at her. "That depends," she said stepping into the elevator. "Are you trying to set us up again? Because I'm telling you now, that boy is full of himself."

The elevator doors shut, and as the small room began to lower a bright white square appeared overhead. A girl fell through, landing awkwardly at Miwa's feet.

"Taka Onna!" Miwa exclaimed, thrusting out an arm to shield April.

"Taka whatta?" April gasped looking from the white square where the ceiling should be to the girl struggling to her feet.

"No, no, no. I'm not Taka Onna. I'm not," the girl dusted herself off and cocked a blonde eyebrow. "I mean really? Do I look like a homely old woman Yokai to you?"

Miwa scowled. Aside from the bizarre crooked headdress, the girl was wearing, she was far from ugly. Still, she fell from the sky-ceiling? Miwa glanced above her head but found the white gone and the elevator was normal again, aside from the strange girl.

"Well you sure have the magic of a demon," Miwa said, crossing her arms.

The Yokai-girl straightened her headpiece and smiled. "Eh, it's not magic really. It's the scepter." She motioned to the staff-like object she carried. "I'm the Time Master's Apprentice," she announced, standing up tall and straight.

April and Miwa stared at her.

The girls smile gradually faded and her shoulders slumped. "Right, you don't know what that is." The girls hazel eyes fell to the floor. "This whole mess is kind of my fault. I mean if I'd just embraced who I am this would've never happened."

Miwa's teeth ground together. She didn't like unexpected guests, didn't appreciate demons dropping in on her and wasn't about to be deceived by anything one said. She reached in her jeans pocket, realized she'd forgotten her pocket knife and opted to use the girl's stick-thing instead. In two quick, fluid motions Miwa had the demon-girl pinned beneath the tip of her own scepter. "Who are you and what are going on about?"

"I'm Renet, the Time Masters Apprentice and," Renet's foot swiped out knocking Miwa to her butt and in almost mirrored movements, Miwa found herself staring at the wrong end of the scepter. "I'm here to tell you that the nightmare you've been having every night of your life it's an alternate reality. The world where you truly belong. It's where you need to make a different choice in order to change a terrible outcome." Renet shook her head. "This life, the one you're living, is not your true path, Miwa. This is not your destiny. You will never find your heart full and satisfied, not here." The time mistress frowned. "Your path is that of a warrior Hamato Karai, and you are a great one at that. Have the courage to choose a different journey, and you will find everything your heart desires… even as you think the pain of what you must do will destroy you," Renet lowered her scepter to Miwa's forehead and the elevator fell away, "because I'm here to tell you, it won't.

000

As Miwa landed on her butt, hard against concrete, she glared at the scepter wielding demon-girl. "Where am I?" she snapped, getting to her feet and looking around for her friend. "And where is April?"

Renet stared at Miwa then shook her head and motioned to their surroundings with the scepter. "Hamato Miwa, this is your tomorrow if you don't make a different choice when you go to sleep tonight."

Miwa stood in the center of a silent Times Square. The billboards were as dark and lifeless as the streets. Every window, traffic, and street light was shattered. Litter drifted and coasted down the sidewalks like tumbleweeds, and there wasn't a human anywhere to be seen.

Renet halted a scrap of newspaper with the end of the scepter. "Read the date."

Fear constricted Miwa's movement. She'd never seen New York like this, deserted, abandoned, lifeless. The sky as dark as pitch. She looked up, expected to see stars, instead felt her knees buckle at sight of a massive sphere shaped space ship hovering above the city skyline. "What hell is this?" she gasped.

"Read the date," Renet repeated, picking up the paper and holding it before her.

Miwa's eyes drifted to the date. October 8, 2014. "That's today."

"No. Here, it is yesterday, Miwa. There will never be another paper now, not here, October 9, 2014 or any date hereafter. You see, in that nightmare you keep having, when you choose to save your parents, you are choosing this life and in this life Leonardo and his brothers do not exist. Which means there is no one to save the world from this invasion. Aliens, Miwa. And there's no champion to fight them. Not even you alone. But you can save the world with your sacrifice, and join them, save your home and all these lives."

Miwa stepped away from Renet. "Demons lie! This is an illusion," Miwa waved a disgusted hand at her abductor and the world surrounding her.

"They die here anyway, Miwa. Humanity dies here, ends here. But you can save it."

Miwa shut her eyes as very real concrete crashed into her knees. Her hands splayed out to her sides, fingertips reaching for the pavement, feeling the cool, hardness, lifelessness where the city formerly thrummed with a pulse, a rhythm, a breath of its own. Either she was crazy and hallucinating or this was true and she was faced with an impossible decision. Sacrifice her mother, possibly her father, her family, so that the blue masked turtle she knew she was desperately in love with could save the world? So stupid. She pressed her forehead to the street, kneeling in the center of her crossroads, tears slipping down her cheeks. Because as she cleared her mind, she knew in her gut, in her heart and soul that what Renet was telling her was true.

She wept until she slipped into a fitful slumber, one that transported her to face her destiny, exhausted, and with the fate of the world on her shoulders.

000

Karai saw herself standing on her mother's doorstep, poised to enter, to meet her for the first time, to hear her speak, to look in her eyes, to know her. But as her fingers reached for the door her heart sank. This was it. This was the moment she had chosen what she wanted over everything else.

"I thought I'd give everything to meet you, Mother," Karai whispered against the door, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I thought this would fix everything, but the world needs him," her heart ached as she wept, "and I need him."

She moved to drop her head against the door, only it fell on dead air because it was open.

"Oh, excuse me. Can I help you?" Tang Shen asked in a kind voice.

Karai stumbled back, stricken by the sound of her mother speaking. Her heart could be sliced to bits by Shredders own blades the hurt ran so deep, and in a way it had been because ultimately this was all his doing. But what torture had she spiraled into? Parallel realities where she knew her mother's love and her inevitable fate no matter what she did?

Karai stared into Tang Shen's confused eyes. _Choose the right path, Karai. Choose of your own volition, without the influence of any other living being. Choose because you know what will be if you do and if you don't._ Karai's eyes filled, her stomach flipping and tossing in a sea of nausea. She opened her mouth to speak, but found no words.

Then her eyes fell on the slumbering infant cuddled against her mother's breast and she stepped back. _Save her! Save them! Save yourself from the fate of a life at Shredders bidding!_ Karai's heart thumped against her ribcage and her foot moved back yet again. _Or sacrifice everything, and save the world._ She looked in her mother's eyes again. "I-"

Tang Shen stepped forward and reached out one hand. "Are you alright? Do you need help?"

Karai's stomach lurched, and everything spun. Then Leo's arms were around her and he was talking to Tang Shen. "She's a loose Taka Onna. It's why I'm here. She escaped us and I was sent to round her up. Sorry to bother you. We'll just be off now." Leo explained, as he guided a weak-kneed Karai away.

"Wait!" Karai dug her heels into the earth and jerked free of Leonardo. She ran to Tang Shen, inhaled deeply the scent of her, the sound of her, the look of her, committing her to memory. Then she told her, "Choose Hamato Yoshi. Tang Shen, choose Hamato Yoshi."

A small smile formed on her mother's mouth as she cradled the infant closer and whispered. "I already have."

Leo's fingers wrapped around Karai's bicep and he guided her behind the dojo. She slumped against him, clinging to him as she wept and he held her, not saying a word.

000

Michelangelo sprint onto the battlefield, and launched himself up in the air while calling, "April!"

She met his gaze, reached up with one hand and with no notable effort Tang Shen's tessen landed in her hand as if drawn to it by a magnetic force. Just as quick April released it with a flick of her wrist and it flew straight at Shredder.

April freed herself of the ninja holding her and sprint forward as her weapon knocked the vial from Shredders fingers. There were two Michelangelo's then. One leapt from the tree above Shredder to snatch the vial falling from his grasp, and the other across the battlefield had provided the necessary distraction. Mid-air Mikey caught the vial and tossed it not to Donatello, who reached for it even as he was encircled by ninja, but to April. He winked at her then seemed to disappear in thin air.

Shredder screamed in protest as April caught the damned compound with one hand and shoved it in her pocket, then caught her tessen with her other. Her precious weapon in one hand she fought off ninja after ninja.

Beside her, Renet took advantage of Shredder's shock and landed a kick to his shoulder. He stumbled back dropping the scepter, then lunged forward to attack but it was too late.

Renet pointed the scepter and a window cut the air behind him then April ran forward as Donatello screamed. "April! NO!"

But she would not be stopped.

Hun reappeared in her periphery as April raced toward her target. _Don't let him catch you. Nothing will stop you. Not now._

"April!" Donnie yelled, diving to block Hun.

She'd had enough of Shredder. She'd earn Donatello's trust with her sacrifice, she'd prove her love to him, and he'd know how far she'd go and how sorry she was. April's foot flew toward Shredder's face, her momentum more than enough to hurl them both through the window.

April was in a free fall, Shredder flailing at dead air below her. Then Hun tumbled past her. Suddenly, Karai's hand was there, and holding on to her was Renet, and holding her arm was Donatello, and holding him was Leonardo, then there was Michelangelo, and Raphael.

"Where'd you send us, Renet?" Raph called out.

Renet smiled at April as she answered Raph. "Home."


	18. Yes

They tumbled one by one through the window, landing in a heap, Hun, Shredder, April, Karai, Renet, Donnie, Leo, Mikey, and Raph. As they untangled themselves and got to their feet, Karai held out a hand to Donnie. "Apprentice Scepter, Donatello."

Donnie handed it to her without question as the seven of them encircled a snarling Shredder and disoriented Hun. Karai pointed the device at the man who'd stolen her mother from her, who'd forced her to endure countless agonies. "What do I do to make it work?" she asked.

Donnie pointed to the dial, then the button, but said nothing.

Karai turned the knob and as the end of the scepter illuminated a window opened behind Shredder. "This is the end of the Foot, and the end of you Oroku Saki. The Hamato Clan will rise again," Karai smiled through her tears, "I'll be sure to personally see to it."

As Shredder opened his mouth to protest four turtle feet landed square in his chest launching him through the portal. April and Renet stepped up to Hun and the fool jumped in on his own. The window closed and an exhausted Karai handed the scepter to Donatello.

They stood together in a long silence before Michelangelo asked. "Where'd ya send him, Rai?"

Karai wiped her face with the back of her hand and smiled despite herself. "Hell if I know, but it sure was a long way from here."

000

The seven of them had pushed three tables together in Michelangelo's pizzeria, and devoured slice after slice. Donatello had eaten all he could, and the silence that blanketed the closed pizza parlor waned between the lot of them. They were too old for battles, long out of practice, and sore from it. They were tired, and bruised, drained and… he looked at April's battered face, beautiful.

How had he ever doubted her? The vial, she'd returned to him, in his pocket reminded him of all that he had not understood, but that in only a short amount of time had become clear.

April took a sip of her drink, then another bite and chewed while keeping her eyes averted from him. A small dribble of cheese escaped her and her tongue flashed across her split lip in an effort to chase it in. She was nervous, he could tell by the way she ate. He knew her well, so much so that he understood why she was upset, and it occurred to him that he could do something about it. After all she'd tried to sacrifice herself in an effort to save them. His heart swelled.

Her coppery strands spilled over her bare shoulders, splattered with terrible blue and green marks. His teeth ground together. How many times had knowing him brought her life so close to its end?

As if reading his mind she looked up at him and flashed him an uncertain smile. He felt the corners of his mouth tip up instinctively as his insides melted. It was so far past time that he did the right thing by her.

He glanced down the table where Michelangelo was shoving an entire breadstick in his mouth with a trembling hand. He had to talk to Renet the same way Donnie needed to talk to April.

"Hey, Mikey," Donnie said to his little brother.

Michelangelo looked on Donnie with grateful eyes. "Y-y-eah, D?"

Everyone looked to Michelangelo.

"Do you still have that package I left here a while ago? The one I asked you to keep safe?" Donatello's confidence in his decision grew as Leo interjected.

"You gave Mikey something to keep safe?"

Donnie's gaze drifted from Michelangelo to April. "Yes, I did."

Mikey bounced out of his seat and bolted through the swinging door into the kitchen. He reappeared moments later with a stiff plastic bag and handed it to Donatello.

The cold seeped into Donnie's hands and the stiffness of the bag surprised him. He looked at Michelangelo. "Where did you keep it?"

Mikey shrugged. "In the walk-in freezer, next to the pepperoni."

Donnie shook his head as he pushed back his chair and walked around the table to where April sat. He pulled back her chair with her in it and she stared at him in surprise. He knelt down before her.

"April, I am so sorry I ever doubted you. You have been my best friend most of my life and I don't know what I was thinking." As he talked Donnie was ashamed of himself. He knew her better. He knew her love and how deep it ran, for every time they'd covered each other in a battle, for every mishap that had befallen them, from her father turning into a mutant bat when their friendship was tested for the first time, to her seeing him through the death of his father when he was at his worst. "I'm sorry, April. Will you please forgive me for being a jerk? And," he reached into the bag, "forgive me for waiting so long to ask you," he pulled out a small box and opened it revealing an amethyst encircled diamond ring. "Marry me?"

April stared open mouthed at the ring. She was quiet so long Donnie began to fear she would say no.

Then April tore her eyes off the diamonds and looked him in the eye. "Hamato Donatello, if you don't know by now that I'd do anything for you and with you, then you don't know me at all." Tears clung to her cinnamon eyelashes and she let them spill over as she nodded emphatically. "Of course I will marry you."

"Yes?" Donatello breathed.

April nodded. "Yes."

000

Leo and Karai left the pizzeria hours after the recovery dinner turned into a celebratory one. Hand in hand they strolled along the sidewalk. Leo had to admit it was long overdue, all of it, April and Donnie's engagement, the end of Shredder, and… he stopped walking. "Are you here to stay, Karai?"

She turned to face him. Her golden-brown eyes stared into him, the circles beneath them like a slap across his face. How could he ask anything of her after everything she'd been through, after what she'd sacrificed?

Finally she nodded her head. "I'm home now, Leo. Shredder is gone. The Foot will disband, I'll see to it. And the Hamato name will live on. I'll open a dojo, and we will have students. I've thought it all out." As tears filled her eyes his heart clenched. He'd never seen her cry so much. "I just, I guess I never thought this day would come." She let out an exhausted, bitter laugh. "There's just one thing I'm not sure of, I guess."

Leo listened to her, was glad to hear she had some type of plan for her life post-Shredder revenge. Even more so it brought great joy to him that she intended to open a dojo with the Hamato name. "What aren't you sure of?"

Her fingers flew forward, quickly snatching the tails of his mask and she whipped him around slamming him into the wall of the nearest building, thrusting her face in his. "Will you quit being a cop and come help me run it?"

A fire stoked in Leo, a solitary flame that burned only for her. His hand worked its way into her hair, his fingers wrapping around the back of her head as his mouth drew near hers. "Only if you'll come live with me," he whispered ghosting her lips.

Her mouth curved into a smirk, her eyes locking with his. "I can't believe you called me a Taka Onna."

"Let it go, Karai," Leo breathed her in, the sweet scent of her filling his head. He could slip into an easier life as long as she was in it, together they could conquer anything he was sure of it. His lips brushed lightly over hers. "Let it all go, and just say yes."

She hummed softly, leaning her body closer to his. "Make me," she challenged.

He snatched her mouth up with his, kissing her deep. She tugged on the tail of his mask and he slipped an arm around her back and pulled her closer. "Say yes," he prompted between kisses.

They engaged in a push and pull, squeeze and grab, panting make-out until finally she thrust him hard against his own front door. "Leo," she gasped.

"Yes," he panted.

"Yes," she moaned.

"Yes?" he echoed.

"Yes."

000

Raph leaned back in his chair, picking at his teeth with a toothpick. Michelangelo began picking up plates and Renet chewed on the end of her straw, but none of them said a word.

Raph sighed, slamming the front legs of the chair against the floor as he got to his feet. "I'm gonna go home, Mikey," he said, stretching. "I gotta soak this old shell in some Epsom salts." He cradled one shoulder and made little circles with his arm. "Think I pulled somethin' today."

The pizzeria doorbell jingled and Raph and Mikey looked up, and Renet stopped chewing on her straw. Raph sensed the girl stiffen, caught the slight flinch that she tried to smooth over with a forced smile. He shifted his focus to the door and felt his heart soar.

"Mona Lisa!" he exclaimed, leaping over two tables to get to her.

"Yes, Raphael!" Mona Lisa smiled wide, snatching him up into her arms and planting kisses all over his face.

After long moments of smooching Raph came up for air and looked at his long lost love. "What are you doing here? How?"

Mona shook her head. "Don't you watch or read the news, Raphael?"

Raph shrugged. "I been busy, with time travel," he motioned to Renet, then continued, "and crazy end of mutant-kind madness. I got no time for readin' the paper or watchin' the tube."

Mona waved at Renet, and the woman with her smiled. Renet nodded at them both but said nothing.

"Raphael," Mona Lisa began, "they have lifted the ban on alien immigrants. We are here with work visas. Renet has told me they will be hiring at the police department soon and I am more than qualified."

Raph's brow furrowed. "You know, Renet?"

Mona Lisa and her companion laughed. "Of course, Raphael. She is the Time Masters Apprentice, soon to be Time Master. Time is universal through thousands of dimensions. Not just Earth."

Raph frowned, and rubbed the back of his mask. "So you, uh, gonna stay with me?"

Mona Lisa motioned to her friend. "Only if Kala can stay too."

The petite red-haired woman thrust out a hand to Raphael. "Hi, I'm Kala. Wow, you are just, wow. Even hotter than Mona described." Then her eyes flitted past Raphael to Michelangelo, "but you, are just irresistible. You single, Mr. Orange-clad Cutie?"

Raph near choked on his own spit.

Michelangelo's eyes darted back and forth between Renet and Kala. He opened his mouth but Renet interrupted, answering for him. "Yes, he is."

000

Michelangelo's heart was pounding. What was happening?

Renet pushed back her chair and stood, feigning a yawn. "You know, I was just going actually." She stretched, "I've got to get to Time Mastering, destiny and all that jazz."

Michelangelo's face crumbled as she walked past him to the kitchen door. He glanced at Kala then spun around and followed Renet.

"Renet, wait!" he called after her, grabbing her wrist just in time to stop her from slipping through a portal. "Don't go," he pleaded.

"Oh, Mikey," her shoulders dropped as she turned to face him, her eyes on the ground. "It's not our time, you sweet turtle you."

Michelangelo's heart clenched as he stuck a finger under her chin guiding her to look him in the eye. The tears he found streaming down her face tore at him. "I know, Renet. You're mother-"

Renet blanched. "My mother was here?"

Michelangelo nodded.

"Was she nice to you? Oh tell me she was. I swear, if she'd just give me some space-" Renet rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

Then Kala walked through the kitchen door, and as she passed through a vapor seemed to rinse over her. Michelangelo thought he'd seen everything, but couldn't make sense of what was happening right then. As the swirling steam cleared Kala _was_ Ever Tilley.

"Some space to what, Renet? To run off on fool missions, to shirk duties and nearly get yourself killed with your epic adventures?" Ever stepped between Mikey and Renet forming an odd triangle.

Renet glared at her mother. "I'm a grown woman, Mom." Then she gazed into Michelangelo's eyes, "and I've waited so long to do what I want." She looked at her mother again. "And since when do you say awesome words like epic?"

Ever Tilley's perfect red lips spread wide as she smiled so wide her teeth showed, then her fingers wrapped around Renet's wrist. "Since I am so proud of you for risking everything to do what you believe is right. For your final test as apprentice was all of this. Right up to the moment you were willing to sacrifice the greatest love of your life."

Renet's mouth fell open. "What?"

"You were in a position to sacrifice your love for Michelangelo to protect your friend, April, from harm. And again just now when I walked through the door as Kala, you would give him up." Ever squeezed her daughter's hand. "Why would you do that, Renet?"

Michelangelo felt like he shouldn't be privy this conversation but couldn't help wanting to know, to understand. So he watched, helpless and curious at the same time.

Renet blinked and sucked a trembling lip into her mouth. She seemed to be shaking all over and Mikey resisted the urge to step forward and comfort her.

Finally Renet found her words. "It was all I could do to protect April, and I know the role she plays to the Hamato's," Renet gazed off to the side as if peering into the future, "and the priceless role she has yet to fill. She is special. She cannot be replaced." Renet looked at Michelangelo and his heart fluttered. "I will be with Mikey in my next life." Then her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, "at least I thought Kala would be with him until that life." She glanced at her mother, "but _you_ can't be with him!"

Ever laughed. "Daughter, it was all a test, right down to the fake alternate future I showed you where Michelangelo was happy with Kala. Darling daughter, you have always had the choice to be Time Master, and you can be Master while being with Michelangelo. But," Ever glanced at Mikey, "she will need to travel a lot and at strange times, so you will need to be very understanding."

Michelangelo tried to keep up but couldn't help reeling.

"Wait," he held up a hand to Ever and surprised himself with the anger in his voice, "are you saying us defeating Shredder and Karai losing her mother that was all a test? You made all this up, tortured us all, and for what?"

Ever shook her head. "No, Michelangelo, it was all very real. The only parts that weren't entirely true was me telling you Renet couldn't be with you, and me showing Renet your happy future without her because she had to prove to the elders that she would make the sacrifice, the right choices, the difficult kind where you put time and the universe before yourself and what you want. And now that they know she will do that she is free to be with you and do her duty as Master." Ever frowned. "There was enough sacrificing going on within the Hamato family. You each deserve your happy endings. Besides, the future I showed you with my daughter," Ever winked at Mikey, "that was very real and not at all in the distant future."

Renet and Michelangelo stared at Ever. Mikey couldn't decide if he was thrilled or furious.

"Well," Ever said after long moments of awkward silence, "I've got to get back to the office." She glanced at Renet. "But the new Time Master will be ready for work bright and early, right?"

Renet scowled at her mother. "I'm taking the day off," she hissed. Then she turned to face Michelangelo with a smiled on her face as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I've earned it."

Mikey considered his future with the blonde Time Master he'd known for so long. "Epic," he nodded moving in to kiss her.

Renet grinned, peeking at him beneath long lashes. "Better than epic, Mikey."

"Yeah?" he murmured breathing her in, feeling his heart fill.

Renet nodded. "Everlasting."


End file.
